Antiphona 1

This antiphon recalls John 19:34: 'Unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit' (one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear). The piercing of Christ's side is the historical foundation of Sacred Heart devotion - the physical heart, visible through the wound, becomes the symbol of divine love made vulnerable. The immediate outflow 'sanguis et aqua' (blood and water) has been interpreted since the Fathers as signifying the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist flowing from Christ's side as Eve came from Adam's. At Lauds, this antiphon directs morning devotion to the concrete event of Calvary: the Sacred Heart is not an abstraction but a wounded organ, proof that God can suffer, and did.