Puer Natus Est

LatineThe Latin text

Puer natus est nobis,
et fílius datus est nobis:
cujus impérium super húmerum ejus:
et vocábitur nomen ejus,
magni consílii Angelus.

Cantáte Dómino cánticum novum,
quia mirabília fecit.

EnglishTranslation

A Child is born to us, and a Son is given to us: whose government is upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called the Angel of great counsel. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because He hath done wonderful things.

From Isaias (Isaiah) 9:6 & Psalm 97 (98) · Roman Missal — the Christmas introit

I

The introit of Christmas Day

Puer Natus Est Nobis is the introit — the entrance chant — of the third Mass of Christmas, the Mass of the Day. As the ministers approach the altar on Christmas morning, the choir sings Isaiah's prophecy in the present tense: a Child is born, a Son is given, now, to us. The long-awaited word of the prophet has become an event.

The text carries the astonishing titles of Isaias (Isaiah) 9 — the government upon His shoulder, the Angel (or Messenger) of great counsel — and sets them against the smallness of a newborn. Omnipotence arrives as an infant; the ruler of all is laid in a manger. The introit holds both at once.

II

Its history

The chant is one of the oldest and most treasured of the Christmas propers, its melody in the seventh mode a model of festive plainchant — bright, arching, joyful. It joins the verse of Psalm 97 (98), 'Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because he hath done wonderful things,' the whole earth's response to the Nativity.

For centuries it has opened Christmas Day itself, the sung threshold across which the faithful enter the feast of the Incarnation. To hear it is to know the season has fully arrived.

III

When it is sung

Puer Natus Est is the introit of the Mass of Christmas Day (in the older Missal it returns on the Octave Day, 1 January); it belongs to the morning of the Nativity above all.

Sung as the procession enters, it does what an introit is meant to do: it gathers the whole assembly's expectation and turns it, in a single phrase, into the announcement — He is born.

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Questions

On the Puer Natus Est.

What does Puer Natus Est mean?

It means 'A Child is born.' Drawn from Isaias (Isaiah) 9:6, it is the entrance chant of the Mass of Christmas Day announcing the birth of the Saviour.

When is it sung?

As the introit of the third Mass of Christmas — the Mass of the Day — on Christmas morning.

Where does the text come from?

From Isaias (Isaiah) 9:6, joined to a verse of Psalm 97 (98) ('Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle'), arranged as the introit in the Roman Missal.

Repertorium

The other chants.

All chants →

The Penitential CryKyrie EleisonThe Cry for Mercy The Antiphon of MortalityMedia VitaIn the Midst of Life The Hymn of InvocationVeni Creator SpiritusThe Invocation of the Spirit The Marian AntiphonSalve ReginaThe Evening Antiphon The Sequence of JudgmentDies IraeThe Day of Wrath The Cry of AdventRorate CaeliThe Cry of Advent The Lenten PleaAttende DomineThe Lenten Plea The Hymn of the SacramentPange LinguaThe Hymn of the Sacrament The Easter AntiphonRegina CaeliThe Easter Antiphon The Golden SequenceVeni Sancte SpiritusThe Golden Sequence The Hidden GodheadAdoro Te DevoteThe Hidden Godhead Hail, True BodyAve Verum CorpusHail, True Body Star of the SeaAve Maris StellaStar of the Sea The Great ThanksgivingTe DeumThe Great Thanksgiving