Before it became associated with a website which promotes the liturgical forms in existence prior to the Second Vatican Council, “Rorate Caeli” is / was the title of a traditional Catholic hymn for the season of Advent, expressing penitence and hope for the coming of the Messiah. I want to focus here on the refrain:
Rorate caeli desuper,
Et nubes pluant justum.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above
And let the clouds rain the Just One.
I am moved to ponder these lines in light of the fact that the Philadelphia area, where I live, this year broke a 150-year-old record for most consecutive days without appreciable rainfall. The clouds did not rain down between 29 September and 29 October. As I write this post, it has rained three times in the past week alone, with rain also falling in November.
I am moved to ponder these lines in light of places which are experiencing exceptional drought conditions in areas of Texas and extreme drought conditions in areas of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nevada and Arizona.
I am moved to ponder these lines in light of the damage inflicted on the French territory of Mayotte by Cyclone Chido and recent flooding in Spain.
Rooted in the seasonal flow of the Northern Hemisphere, the Advent / Christmas cycle involves the annual turning point when days experience more sunlight, the driver of Earth’s weather systems and an essential element for the flourishing of plant life (and thus all life). As with the Easter cycle (again rooted in the spring of the Northern Hemisphere), our current liturgical season invites us to consider the weather around us.
In an era of climate change, we should take this invitation quite seriously as we wait and work in joyful hope for the Advent and Parousia of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I offer here one take on the hymn “Rorate Caeli.”
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