CANTICO. –
I. GENERAL NOTIONS
C. (in Greek 686) generally denotes a poetic composition intended for singing, in praise and thanksgiving to God. S. Paolo, speaking of the euchological songs of the first Christians, expressly recalls the c. together with the psalms and hymns. Writing to the Ephesians (Eph. 5, 19), he says: « Loquentes vobismetipsis in psalmis et hymnis et canticis spiritualibus, cantantes et psallentes in cordibus vestris Domino ». He has a similar expression in the letter to the Colossians (Col. 3, 16). Ecclesiastical tradition has not preserved sufficient elements to distinguish these three categories of songs precisely, and especially the c. in comparison with psalms and hymns. Nevertheless, liturgical practice, following the aforementioned Pauline texts, classifies the poetic songs in use in the Church with the same terms: psalms are the poetic texts contained in the Davidic Psalter; c., on the other hand, are those contained in the Bible outside the Psalter, and this is by now the specific meaning of the word in the Liturgy. They are very similar to the psalms, with the same poetic structure, founded on parallelism, and the same purpose, namely to express religious sentiments of particular nobility and intensity in elevated form. In particular, in content they resemble the doxological psalms, since they predominantly express praise and thanksgiving, in keeping also with the generic meaning of the word c.; yet they also contain supplications and elegiac passages.II. LITURGICAL USE
The c. had been composed not for liturgical use, but simply to express the authors’ sentiments in a noble manner, and had been committed to writing solely in order to preserve their memory. It was nevertheless obvious that such elevated formulas would be employed by pious persons to express or arouse similar sentiments in analogous circumstances, and in particular would also be adopted for public worship. Many psalms as well (including the Miserere itself, so well known and frequently used) had initially been composed for entirely particular purposes and were subsequently inserted into the official collections of the Psalter. There is also the case of a c. that was inserted in its entirety into the psalter and used without further distinction alongside the other psalms: this is the c. recorded in II Sam. 22, 2 ff., composed by David when he found himself delivered from all his enemies, and which later became, with slight variations, Psalm 17. Psalm 104 too forms part, up to V. 15, of the c. recorded in I Par. 16, 8 ff. As for the c., however, that were not inserted into the psalter, there is no evidence that the Jews used them in public worship; Christians, on the other hand, made very extensive use of them, especially at Lauds, because their elevated style and doxological content make them highly suitable for exalting God’s perfections, his works, and his benefits. Even those that do not refer to the works of creation or, in general, to God’s benefits, but to specific historical events of the Old Testament, such as the crossing of the Red Sea, can be used by Christians with complete adherence to the new reality, since it is well known that ancient events are taken as corresponding figures of the events of Christ and the Church. The first to be used were the aforementioned c. of Moses at the Red Sea (Ex. 15, 1 ff.) and that of the three young men in the furnace (Dan. 3, 52 ff.), which may be called the typical c. In time others were added, particularly the evangelical c., which, chiefly through the work of s. Benedetto, became part of daily use. In the Roman breviary, the c. of the New Testament are used at the end of Lauds, Vespers, and Compline, almost as a complement to the hymn; those of the Old Testament, on the other hand, are used in the psalmody of Lauds, specifically in the penultimate position.Until the reform of Pius X (1911), 7 c. were used for this purpose, one for each day of the week. Pius X gave greater impetus to this practice. He established, in fact, a twofold arrangement for the psalmody of Lauds, one for ordinary seasons and the other for penitential seasons, out of a concern for precision, since the c. generally expresses sentiments of praise and not of penance. In this way, another 7 most noble formulas of praise were transferred from occasional reading of the Bible to liturgical use.
In the Benedictine breviary, which reflects an older form of the divine office, the c. of the Old Testament are used not only at Lauds but also at Matins: on Sundays and the more solemn feasts, in fact, after two Nocturns with 6 psalms each, a third is added, consisting of 3 c.
The Ambrosian Breviary too, which is also very ancient, makes use of c. at Matins.
Besides the divine office, the c. are also widely used in the Mass, especially in the chants that follow the Epistle. For the most part, however, only certain verses are used, and entire c. more rarely. Particularly noteworthy is the use of the c. of the three young men, already mentioned, after the fifth lesson on the Saturdays of the Ember Days, when, instead of responding Deo gratias, one proceeds immediately to sing part of II. After certain prophecies of Holy Saturday as well, specifically after the fourth, eighth, and eleventh, several verses of the c. of Moses and Isaiah are sung. In processions, c. are widely used, especially evangelical ones, together with psalms and hymns. The singing of the Benedictus at the funeral rites of adults is noteworthy.
III. THE CANTICLES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
We have said that the canticles of the Old Testament used in the Roman breviary number fourteen; more properly, one should say thirteen, because the two canticles taken from the prophet Daniel are, strictly speaking, only two portions of the same canticle placed in the mouths of the three youths in the furnace.Following the biblical order of the book from which they are taken, a brief account of them will be given here, indicating their place in the Office, that is, the weekday and schema I or II of Lauds to which they are assigned.
1. 2. Moses, in his first canticle (Ex. 15:1–19: Thursday II), celebrates the wonders of the Red Sea; in the second (Deut. 32:1–43: Saturday II), he sings of God’s covenant with Israel and his immense love for the chosen people, often repaid with the blackest ingratitude. — 3. Hannah, mother of Samuel (I Sam. 2:1–10: Wednesday II), blesses the Lord for the wondrous motherhood granted to her and for divine kindness toward the humble. This canticle is closely related to the psalm Laudate pueri and to the Magnificat. — 4. David (II Par. 29:10–13: Monday I), while gathering materials and treasures for the construction of the Temple, celebrates God as the supreme being, master of all things, to whom it is wholly fitting to dedicate what man possesses that is most beautiful and precious. — 5. Tobiah (Tob. 13:1–10: Tuesday I) celebrates God’s goodness and his designs of mercy toward the Jews even during the Babylonian captivity. — 6. Judith (Jud. 16:15–21: Wednesday I) sings of God’s power in creation and in the defense of his people. — 7. Jesus of Sirach, author of Ecclesiasticus (Eccl. 36:1–16: Saturday I), prays to God for the Israelites dispersed throughout the world, that he may make himself known to all peoples, gather Israel, and restore to Jerusalem its former glory. — 8. 9. Isaiah, in the first canticle (Is. 20:1–6: Monday II), invites people to praise God, proclaiming deliverance from Babylonian slavery; in the second (45:16–26: Friday I), he breaks into a hymn of jubilation to the invincible God, savior of Israel and author of all things, absolute arbiter of human destinies. Isaiah’s canticle reported in chapter 6, vv. 1–2, should also be remembered: it concerns the benefits bestowed by God upon his beloved vineyard, that is, the people of Israel; it is sung on the morning of Holy Saturday after the fifth prophecy. — 10. Hezekiah, miraculously delivered from a mortal illness (Is. 38:10–20: Tuesday II), poetically sets forth the anguish of extreme danger and the joy of sudden recovery. — 11. Jeremiah (Jer. 31:10–24: Thursday I), comforted by God with the vision of Israel’s forgiveness, sings of the joy of the return from Babylon. — 12. 13. The three youths, Ananias, Azariah, and Misael (Dan. 3:52–56; 3:57–88: Sunday II and I), moved upon seeing themselves miraculously delivered from an atrocious death and feeling themselves incapable of thanking God adequately on their own, turn to all creatures, asking them to join them in divine praise. It is the biblical canticle most widely used in the Church from the earliest times, and it is also used in the Mass of the Saturday of the Ember Days after the fifth lesson. It proceeds with great simplicity, reviewing one after another all the works of God that fill heaven and earth and inviting them to bless, praise, and exalt their Lord above all. It inspired s. Francesco to compose the canticle of the creatures. — 14. Habakkuk (Hob. 3:1–19: Friday II) extols divine Providence, which, with awesome justice and at the same time ineffable mercy, directs all human events.