Antiphona 1

Canticles 1:12 provides this antiphon, interpreted christologically since Origen. The 'Rex in accubitu suo' (King at his rest) indicates the Incarnation - Christ reclining in Mary's womb as at a banquet. The 'nardus' (spikenard) was the precious ointment Mary Magdalene poured on Christ's feet (John 12:3); here it signifies Mary's virtues pleasing to God. The 'odor suavitatis' (odor of sweetness) recalls the technical sacrificial language of Leviticus (e.g., 1:9) - Mary's fiat as a pleasing offering. At Vespers, the evening hour of incense (Psalm 140:2), this fragrant imagery presents Mary's entire life as ascending prayer.