Falling Yet Striving to Rise:  Alma Redemptoris Mater

 Falling Yet Striving 

Falling yet striving to rise. That’s the life of a Christian. It’s better than the alternative, of course, which is simply falling. In any case, this idea is central to the Marian prayer Alma Redemptoris Mater (“Loving Mother of the Redeemer”). This will be the Marian Antiphon from the 1st Sunday of Advent through the Baptism of the Lord on February 2nd.

We often find that when we look at something in a different light, we can see it more fully. This is often the way with traditional prayers.  We hear them so often that sometimes the words cease to register. In the case of prayers that come to us from a different language (such as Latin) looking at the original words can give us new appreciation.  It can help us rediscover the power of the prayer. That’s the case with the Alma Redemptoris Mater.  And don’t worry if you don’t know Latin; that’s what I’m here for.

The Marian Antiphons, by the way, are traditional prayers we address to the Blessed Mother at the end of Compline, the final prayer of the day in the Liturgy of the Hours. In a growing number of parishes you hear them after Sunday Mass as well. Specific antiphons correspond to different seasons. The liturgical year begins with the Alma Redemptoris Mater. It covers Advent and the Christmas Season, which traditionally concludes with the feast of Christ’s Baptism. Next comes Ave Regina Caelorum from February 3rd to the Easter Vigil. We pray (or sing) the Regina Caeli from Easter through Pentecost Sunday.  The Salve Regina is the antiphon for the remainder of the liturgical year. Then we start all over again.The Marian Antiphons are relatively young for traditional Catholic prayers. They’re not quite a thousand years old.  

 Falling and Rising 

Back to  Alma Redemptoris Mater. Tradition tells us that Blessed Hermann of Reichenau it. Blessed Hermann (a.k.a. Hermann the Cripple) lived in the eleventh centuryCeiling Fresco of Blessed Hermann from the Monastery at Schussenried.*  As is true of other Marian hymns, the Alma Redemptoris Mater is a prayer asking the Blessed Mother to intercede for us before her son Jesus. Intercessory prayers traditionally begin with a reminder to whomever we are addressing why we are turning to them.  This is true both of Christian and non-Christian prayer. So, we begin by reminding Mary that she is our Alma Mater. The standard translation for this prayer is “Loving Mother,” but the Latin adjective alma implies something more specific: “nourishing.” The  phrase alma mater sometimes meant “nursemaid.” The Blessed Mother is, in a sense, a spiritual nursemaid to all Christians.

In the case of Jesus, of course, she was no nursemaid, but quite literally his mother. The second word of the prayer, Redemptoris (of the Redeemer), reminds us that our petition is ultimately addressed to Him. Mary is just the intercessor, the go-between. For that reason she is the “accessible gate  of Heaven” (pervia caeli Porta). She is also Stella Maris, “star of the sea,” our guiding star. Like the North Star, she can steer us on the true path to her Son.

 Running Up to Help 

Now we’re ready for our first petition. I’ve always felt an affinity with the image of the falling people who are striving to rise. The Latin nicely evokes the falling and rising of the sea, complementing Stella Maris. Latin poets typically thought of the first half of a line of verse as “rising” and the second half as “falling.” And as it happens, the last word of the second line, cadenti, “falling” is neatly juxtaposed to surgere, “rise,” at he beginning of the next line. Our English translation doesn’t quite capture the power of the Latin here:

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again

“Who have fallen” is not an exact translation of Cadenti. The Latin word is a present participle; it is happening at the same time as curat, “strive.”  Also, succurrere means more than just “assist.” It literally means run up to help (sub + currere). The intent of the Latin is really more like

come running up to help your falling people as they struggle to rise

I’ve always found that to be a powerful evocation of what it’s like (for me, anyway) to try to live a Christian life in this broken world. We’re always in the midst of falling, but always struggling to rise at the same time.

 Begetting the Begetter 

The second half of the prayer reminds us a second time that Mary’s importance comes through her Again there’s some wonderfully evocative imagery:

tu quae genuisti,
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem

“You who bore, to the wonderment of nature, your own holy Creator.”  The incarnation is so astounding that all of creation looks on in amazement.  I always picture the animals around Jesus in the manger.  Now we know what they were thinking. Notice also genuisti, “you gave birth,” and genitorem, here translated “creator.”  They both come to from the same root, gen-, which has to do with giving birth.  The cognate root in Greek brings us the word genesis. Using different forms from the same word reinforces just how amazing (and confounding) the Incarnation is. We can achieve the same effect in English if we translate it as “You begot your own holy Begetter.”

 Taking vs. Receiving 

We are next reminded that Mary remained a “virgin before and after” (Virgo prius ac posterius), because Jesus wasn’t conceived in the usual way.  Rather, The Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her (see Luke 1:35) at the time of the annunciation.  

The Alma Redemptoris Mater alludes to this event with Gabrielis ab ore / Sumens illud Ave, “You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting.” Yet again, the Latin words carry a stronger connotation than the standard English translation. The modern word “receive” feels somewhat passive.  Sumens, on the other hand, is a much more assertive “take up.” It can even mean “eat or “consume.” Mary is not simply a passive receptacle, she actively assents to participate in God’s plan when she says fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum, “Let it be done unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

 Hail! 

Likewise ave is not simply a greeting.  It’s more formal than the more familiar salve.  Not only that, it’s the greeting that we would usually address to some of higher status, as in Ave, Caesar, “Hail, Caesar!” Consider how a nondescript teenage girl would react when an angel sent by God greets her with that word. We might better capture the power of the Latin here with something like:

Taking up that “Hail!” from the mouth of Gabriel

Finally, after reminding ourselves that even archangels defer to Mary, we we are ready to close with our second petition: peccatorum miserere, “have pity on us sinners.”

 A Powerful Reminder 

Because of its emphasis on the Incarnation the Alma Redemptoris Mater has a special significance for the seasons of Advent and Christmas.  It’s a fitting way to conclude the Mass or the final prayer of the day. It gives us a powerful reminder that, even as we’re falling, we have a star to guide us back to the true course, and an intercessor to whom even the angels bow.

Featured image top of page: The Holy Family, from Convento de Capuchinos (Iglesia Santo Anchel) by unknown artis of 18th century

*Blessed Hermann 

Tradition holds that it was composed by Blessed Hermann of Reichenau, a Benedictine monk who lived in the eleventh century. Blessed Hermann, also known as Hermann the Cripple, was well acquainted with suffering and difficulty. From the beginning of his life he suffered from what seems to have been amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinal muscular atrophy.  Hermann had great difficulty walking and talking. He also lost his sight before his early death at the age of 41.

He rose above his disabilities, however, to become an outstanding scholar in theology, mathematics, astronomy, and history.  After the loss of his vision he dedicated himself to composing prayers and hymns (the Alma Redemptoris Mater being a fine example).  Most importantly, like his fellow disability sufferer St. Servulus, he never let his sufferings dampen his joy in sharing Christ’s Gospel.

Please find the Latin and English Text of the Alma Redemptoris Mater below the video clip.

  Alma Redemptoris Mater

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli
Porta manes, et stella maris, sucurre cadenti,
Surgere qui curat populo: tu quae genuisti,
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore
Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

 Loving Mother of the Redeemer

 Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again,
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before,
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.