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RORATE CAELI

Drop Down Dew, Ye Heavens

Rorate Caeli ('Drop down dew, ye heavens') draws from Isaiah 45:8 and other prophetic texts to express Israel's longing for the Messiah. This Advent hymn captures the urgent plea of a people awaiting redemption, acknowledging their sins while trusting in God's promised salvation. The Rorate Mass is a votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin celebrated during Advent, traditionally at dawn by candlelight.

LATINE
Rorate caeli desuper,
et nubes pluant Justum.
Ne irascaris, Domine, ne ultra memineris iniquitatis:
ecce civitas Sancti facta est deserta,
Sion deserta facta est, Jerusalem desolata est,
domus sanctificationis tuae et gloriae tuae,
ubi laudaverunt te patres nostri.
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant Justum.
Peccavimus et facti sumus tamquam immundus nos,
et cecidimus quasi folium universi,
et iniquitates nostrae quasi ventus abstulerunt nos:
abscondisti faciem tuam a nobis,
et allisisti nos in manu iniquitatis nostrae.
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant Justum.
Vide, Domine, afflictionem populi tui,
et mitte quem missurus es:
emitte Agnum dominatorem terrae,
de petra deserti ad montem filiae Sion,
ut auferat ipse jugum captivitatis nostrae.
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant Justum.
Consolamini, consolamini, popule meus:
cito veniet salus tua.
Quare maerore consumeris? Quare innovavit te dolor?
Salvabo te, noli timere:
ego enim sum Dominus Deus tuus,
Sanctus Israel, Redemptor tuus.
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant Justum.
ENGLISH
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain the Just One.
Be not angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity:
behold the city of Thy sanctuary is become a desert,
Sion is made a desert, Jerusalem is desolate,
the house of Thy sanctification and of Thy glory,
where our fathers praised Thee.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.
We have sinned and are become as one that is unclean,
and we have all fallen as a leaf,
and our iniquities like the wind have carried us away:
Thou hast hidden Thy face from us,
and hast crushed us by the hand of our iniquity.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.
Behold, O Lord, the affliction of Thy people,
and send forth Him who is to come:
send forth the Lamb, the ruler of the earth,
from the rock of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Sion,
that He may take away the yoke of our captivity.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.
Be comforted, be comforted, my people:
thy salvation shall speedily come.
Why art thou consumed with grief? Why hath sorrow seized thee?
I will save thee, fear not:
for I am the Lord thy God,
the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One.
NOTA
FONS
Isaias 45:8; Breviarium Romanum
USUS
Advent season, especially Rorate Masses at dawn
CONTEXT
The Rorate Mass is a votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin celebrated during Advent, traditionally at dawn by candlelight.