Occurring Scripture for the Hour of Matins
First Week of November
If the First Sunday of November falls on November 6 or 7, the last Sunday of the month will be in Advent, which has its own proper occurring Scripture. In this case, the Occurring Scripture for the First and Second Weeks of November are is omittted.
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Here begins the Book of the Prophet Ezechiel
Ezechiel 1:1-4Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives by the river Chobar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God. On the fifth day of the month, the same was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joachin, the word of the Lord came to Ezechiel the priest the son of Buzi in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chobar: and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north: and a great cloud, and a fire enfolding it, and brightness was about it: and out of the midst thereof, that is, out of the midst of the fire, as it were the resemblance of amber:
Lesson ii
Ezechiel 1:5-9And in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures: and this was their appearance: there was the likeness of a man in them. Every one had four faces, and every one four wings. Their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their foot was like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the appearance of glowing brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides: and they had faces, and wings on the four sides, and the wings of one were joined to the wings of another. They turned not when they went: but every one went straight forward.
Lesson iii
Ezechiel 1:10-12And as for the likeness of their faces: there was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four: and the face of an ox, on the left side of all the four: and the face of an eagle over all the four. And their faces, and their wings were stretched upward: two wings of every one were joined, and two covered their bodies: And every one of them went straight forward: whither the impulse of the spirit was to go, thither they went: and they turned not when they went.
Lesson iv
From the Exposition of the Prophet Ezekiel of Pope Saint Gregory the Great
Book i, Homily 2It is the custom of the Prophetic writers first to give name, date, and place, and then to begin to unfold the mysteries of the prophecy in order to give certainty of trustworthiness, a foundation is laid before, and afterward the fruits of the Spirit are set forth by signs and in figures. Thus Ezekiel said concerning the date: "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month." And to show the place, he added further: "As I was among the captives by the river of Chobar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God." Then he defined the time even more exactly, saying In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of King Joachin's captivity. And he who had thus clearly indicated his individuality, went on farther to name his kin, saying "The word of the Lord came unto Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the Priest."
Lesson v
But the first question which meets us is: Why does the Prophet, as yet having said nothing, begin with the words: "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year." Now, this word "And" is a conjunction, and we know that it is so called because it con-joins that which comes after it with that which goes before it. Why, then, does he who had previously been silent, commence by "And," when there is nothing going before the conjunction to join to that which comes after. To explain this, we must consider that our senses perceive only bodily things, while those of prophets also perceive ghostly things, and to them things exist which to our ignorance seem not to exist. Hence in the mind of a Prophet, things outer and things inner are so joined that he sees both together, and the word which he hears within him and that which he utters come together.
Lesson vi
It appears plainly, therefore, that he who had previously been silent, begins by the words: "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year", because his first utterance was but the continuation of something to which he had already been listening in his own mind. The words which he spoke were merely a continuation of the vision already going on within, and therefore the first are, And it came to pass. His language is framed as though his inner revelation had been an open one. That it was in the thirtieth year that the word of the Lord came unto Ezekiel, causes us to remark that in the ordinary use of human understanding, men receive not a call to teach until they be of full age. Hence even the Lord Himself, when He sat in the Temple in the midst of the doctors, in the twelfth year of His age, was pleased to be found, not teaching, but hearing them and asking them questions (cf. Luke 2:46).
Lesson i
From the Prophet Ezechiel
Ezechiel 2:2-5And the Spirit entered into me after that He spoke to me, and He set me upon my feet: and I heard Him speaking to me, and saying: "Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious people, that has revolted against me—they, and their fathers, have transgressed my covenant even until this day. And those to whom I send you are children of a hard face, and of an obstinate heart: and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: If so be they at least will hear, and if so be they will forbear, for they are a provoking house: and they shall know that there hath been a prophet in the midst of them."
Lesson ii
Ezechiel 2:6-7"And you, O son of man, fear not, nor be afraid of their words: for you are among unbelievers and destroyers, and you dwell with scorpions. Fear not their words, nor be dismayed at their looks: for they are a provoking house. And you shall speak My words to them, if perhaps they will hear, and forbear: for they provoke Me to anger."
Lesson iii
Ezechiel 2:8-9"But you, O son of man, hear all that I say: and do not provoke Me, as that house provokes Me: open your mouth, and eat what I give you." And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent to me, wherein was a book rolled up: and he spread it before me, and it was written within and without: and there were written in it lamentations, and canticles, and woe.
Lesson i
From the Prophet Ezechiel
Ezechiel 3:1-4And He said to me: "Son of man, eat all that you find: eat this book, and go speak to the children of Israel." And I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that book: And He said to me: "Son of man, your belly shall eat, and your bowels shall be filled with this book, which I give you." And I did eat it: and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. And He said to me: "Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and you shall speak My words to them."
Lesson ii
Ezechiel 3:5-9"For you are not sent to a people of a profound speech, and of an unknown tongue, but to the house of Israel: Nor to many nations of a strange speech, and of an unknown tongue, whose words you can not understand: and if you were sent to them, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you: because they will not listen to Me: for all those of the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and an obstinate heart. Behold I have made your face stronger than their faces: and your forehead harder than their foreheads. I have made your face like an adamant and like flint: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their presence: for they are a provoking house."
Lesson iii
Ezechiel 3:10-13And he said to me: "Son of man, receive in thy heart, and hear with thy ears, all the words that I speak to you: And bring them to those of the captivity, to the children of your people, and you shall speak to them, and shall say to them: 'Thus says the Lord:' If so be they will hear and will forbear." And the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great commotion, saying: "Blessed be the glory of the Lord, from his place." And the noise of the wings of the living creatures striking one against another, and the noise of the wheels following the living creatures, and the noise of a great commotion.
Lesson i
From the Prophet Ezechiel
Ezechiel 7:1-4And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "And you son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: 'The end has come, the end has come upon the four quarters of the land. Now is an end come upon you, and I will send My wrath upon you, and I will judge you according to your ways: and I will set all your abominations against you. And My eye shall not spare you, and I will show you no pity: but I will lay your ways upon you, and your abominations shall be in the midst of you: and you shall know that I am the Lord.'"
Lesson ii
Ezechiel 7:5-9Thus says the Lord God: "One affliction, behold an affliction has come. An end has come, the end has come, it had dawned against you: behold it has come. Destruction has come upon you who dwell in the land: the time has come, the day of slaughter is near, and not of the joy of the mountains. Now very shortly I will pour out my wrath upon you, and I will consummate My anger in you: and I will judge you according to your ways, and I will lay upon you all your crimes. And My eye shall not spare, neither will I show mercy: but I will lay your ways upon you, and your abominations shall be in your midst: and you shall know that I am the Lord Who strikes."
Lesson iii
Ezechiel 7:10-13"Behold the day, behold it has come: destruction has gone forth, the rod has blossomed, pride has budded. Iniquity has risen up into a rod of impiety: nothing of them shall remain, nor of their people, nor of the noise of them: and there shall be no rest among them. The time has come, the day is at hand: let not the buyer rejoice: nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the people thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which he has sold, for as long as he lives."
Lesson i
From the Prophet Ezechiel
Ezechiel 13:1-6And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy: and you shall say to them that prophesy out of their own heart: 'Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and see nothing. Thy prophets, O Israel, were like foxes in the deserts. You have not gone up to face the enemy, nor have you set up a wall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle in the day of the Lord. They see vain things, and they foretell lies, saying: 'The Lord said:' whereas the Lord hath not sent them: and they have waited for Him confirm what they have said.
Lesson ii
Ezechiel 13:7-10"Have you not seen a vain vision and spoken a lying divination: and you say: 'The Lord says:' whereas I have not spoken. Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have spoken vain things, and have seen lies: therefore behold I come against you, says the Lord God. And My hand shall be upon the prophets who see vain things, and who divine lies: they shall not be in the council of My people, nor shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord God. Because they have deceived my people, saying: 'Peace,' and there is no peace: and the people built up a wall, and they daubed it with dirt without straw.'"
Lesson iii
Ezechiel 13:11-14"Say to them that daub without tempering, that it shall fall: for there shall be an overflowing shower, and I will cause great hailstones to fall violently from above, and a stormy wind to throw it down. Behold, when the wall is fallen: shall it not be said to you: 'Where is the daubing with which you have daubed it?' Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Lo, I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in my indignation, and there shall be an overflowing shower in my anger: and great hailstones in my wrath to consume. And I will break down the wall that you have daubed with untempered mortar: and I will make it even with the ground, and the its foundation shall be laid bare: and it shall fall, and shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and you shall know that I am the Lord.'"
Lesson i
From the Prophet Ezechiel
Ezechiel 15:1-5And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "Son of man, what shall be made of the wood of the vine, out of all the trees of the woods that are among the trees of the forests? Shall wood be taken of it, to do any work, or shall a pin be made of it for any vessel to hang thereon? Behold it is cast into the fire for fuel: the fire has consumed both of its ends, and the middle is reduced to ashes: shall it be useful for any work? Even when it was whole it was not fit for work: how much less, when the fire has devoured and consumed it, shall it be of any use?"
Lesson ii
Ezechiel 15:6-8Thus says the Lord God: "As the vine tree among the trees of the forests which I have given to the fire to be consumed, so will I deliver up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set My face against them: they shall go out from fire, and fire shall consume them: and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have set My face against them. And I shall have made their land a wilderness, and desolate, because they have been transgressors," says the Lord God.
Lesson iii
Ezechiel 16:1-5And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. And you shall say: Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: 'Your root, and your nativity is of the land of Chanaan, your father was an Amorrhite, and your mother a Cethite. And when you were born, in the day of your nativity your navel was not cut, neither were you washed with water for your health, nor salted with salt, nor swaddled with clouts. No eye had pity on you to do any of these things for you, out of compassion to you: but you were cast out upon the face of the earth in the abjection of your soul, in the day that you were born.
Lesson i
From the Prophet Ezechiel
Ezechiel 19:1-7Take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, And say: "Why did your mother the lioness lie down among the lions, and bring up her whelps in the midst of young lions? And she brought out one of her whelps, and he became a lion: and he learned to catch the prey, and to devour men. And the nations heard of him, and took him, but not without receiving wounds: and they brought him in chains into the land of Egypt. But she seeing herself weakened, and that her hope was lost, took one of her young lions, and set him up for a lion. And he went up and down among the lions, and became a lion: and he learned to catch the prey, and to devour men. He learned to make widows, and to lay waste their cities: and the land became desolate, and its fullness by the noise of his roaring.
Lesson ii
Ezechiel 19:8-11And the nations came together against him on every side out of the provinces, and they spread their net over him, in their wounds he was taken. And they put him into a cage, they brought him in chains to the king of Babylon: and they cast him into prison, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. Your mother is like a vine in your blood planted by the water: her fruit and her branches have grown out of many waters. And she has strong rods to make scepters for them that bear rule, and her stature was exalted among the branches: and she saw her height in the multitude of her branches.
Lesson iii
Ezechiel 19:12-14But she was plucked up in wrath, and cast on the ground, and the burning wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods are withered, and dried up: the fire has devoured her. And now she is transplanted into the desert, in a land impassable and dry. And a fire is gone out from a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit: so that she now hath no strong rod, to be a scepter of rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.
In an Office of three lessons, ii and iii above are concatenated and the third is taken from the proper of saints or the Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
