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"Rorate caeli" ( or "Rorate coeli"), from Isaiah 45:8 in the Vulgate, are the opening words of a text used in Catholic and Protestant liturgy during Advent. It is also known as "The Advent Prose " or by the first words of its English translation, "Drop down ye heavens from above."

Background

It is frequently sung as a plainsong at Mass and in the Divine Office during Advent where it gives expression to the longings of Patriarchs and Prophets, and symbolically of the Church, for the coming of the Messiah. Throughout Advent it occurs daily as the versicle and response after the hymn at Vespers.

℣ Rorate coeli desuper et nubes pluant justum (Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just) ℟ Aperiatur terra et germinet salvatorem" (Let the earth be opened and send forth a Saviour").

The Rorate Mass got its proper name from the first word of the Introit (Entrance antiphon): "Rorate caeli désuper et nubes pluant justum" ("Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just").Before the liturgical changes that followed the Second Vatican Council, this Mass was celebrated very early in the morning on all Saturdays. In some areas, it was celebrated on several or even all weekdays during Advent (the Votive Mass of Our Lady in Advent ).

The Rorate Mass is a Votive Mass in honor of the Virgin Mary for the season of Advent. It has a long tradition in the Catholic Church, especially in German-speaking areas. The Masses had to begin relatively early in the morning when it was still dark due to winter - time and were said by candlelight.

Advent

The text is also used:

as the Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, for Wednesday in Ember Week, for the feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for votive Masses of the Blessed Virgin during Advent ;

as a versicle in the first responsory of Tuesday in the first week of Advent ;

as the first antiphon at Lauds for the Tuesday preceding Christmas and the second antiphon at Matins of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin;

in the second responsory for Friday of the third week of Advent and in the fifth responsory in Matins of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin.In the Anglican Communion, the Rorate coeli is included in the music for Advent (735 in the English Hymnal and 501 in the New English Hymnal) and is translated as:

Drop down, ye heavens from aboveand let the skies pour down righteousness.