Antiphona ad Magnificat

This antiphon narrates John 19:33-34 in fuller form than the Lauds antiphon: 'Ad Jesum autem cum venissent, ut viderunt eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura' (when they came to Jesus, seeing him already dead, they did not break his legs). The crurifragium (leg-breaking) was administered to hasten death; its omission fulfills the Paschal Lamb typology (Exodus 12:46). Instead, a soldier 'lancea latus ejus aperuit' (opened his side with a spear), whence flowed 'sanguis et aqua.' At Second Vespers, closing the feast, this extended narrative returns contemplation to the historical event: the Sacred Heart devotion is not pious sentiment but response to what actually happened on Golgotha.