Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen something like this?
Marvel, O heaven;
Wonder, O earth;
Behold, O universe.
God has descended to flesh, and flesh has ascended to God.
The Word has become flesh.
The virgin adores Him whom she bore.
O deepest descent, O highest ascent!
He lies on hay in a manger Who sits on the throne of glory in heaven;
He mingles with rough animals Who is praised by angelic choirs;
He is quiet at His mother’s breast Who always speaks in the lap of His father.
He is hidden in a lowly stable, but is shown to the world by a shining star;
He is wrapped in swaddling clothes but is visited by kings;
He cries and weeps Who is the laughter and joy of Paradise.
Behold, what majesty, behold, what humility: majesty inside, humility outside, power inside, infancy outside, the riches of divinity inside, the poverty of humanity outside.
O true birth, most worthy of God and man!
Who has ever heard such a thing?
Who has ever seen something like this?
So let us, devoutly and humbly, adore Him with the shepherds, praise Him with the angels, let us praise the Solomonic King in the bodily diadem with which the virgin Mary, His mother, has crowned Him.
(Anonymous, set by Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, Quis audivit unquam tale?, 1650)
Magnificat
Jeffrey Kurtzman
John S. Powell
Steven Saunders
Suzanne G. Cusick
Robert Kendrick
