Isaiah 45, Day 2

Let justice descend, you heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the clouds drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let righteousness spring up with them!
I, the Lord, have created this.

Isaiah 45:8

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Out of the Virgin Earth

The Vulgate rendering gave a messianic sense to this verse, using “just one” and “savior” in place of “justice” and “salvation,” phraseology taken over in the Advent liturgy, e.g., the “Rorate coeli.”

New American Bible (Revised Edition) footnote to Isaiah 45:8

The faithful down the centuries sang the “Rorate caeli” hymn in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the bearer of the just one and savior of the world. In Mary, a new genesis is about to begin as the virgin earth brings forth Light from Light out of darkness for all humankind.