ferventer adoratur;
magnisque muneribus
decenter venerant. Ave maria.
As homage due they proffered;
When Him confessing for their Lord,
Their noblest gifts they offered. Hail Mary.
From the Catena Aurea: some interpretations of the gifts
Aug. Gold, as paid to a mighty King; frankincense, as offered to God; myrrh, as to one who is to die for the sins of all.
Greg. Something further may yet be meant here. Wisdom is typified by gold; as Solomon saith in the Proverbs, “A treasure to be desired is in the mouth of the wise.” By frankincense, which is burnt before God, the power of prayer is intended, as in the Psalms, “Let my speech come before thee as incense.” (Ps 141:2) In myrrh is figured mortification of the flesh. To a king at his birth we offer gold, if we shine in his sight with the light of wisdom; we offer frankincense, if we have power before God by the sweet savour of our prayers; we offer myrrh, when we mortify by abstinence the lusts of the flesh.
Gloss, Anselm . They open their treasures, i.e., manifest the faith of their hearts by confession. Rightly “in the house,” teaching that we should not vaingloriously display the treasure of a good conscience. They bring “three” gifts, i.e., the faith in the Holy Trinity. Or opening the stores of Scripture, they offer its threefold sense, historical, moral and allegorical; or Logic, Physic, and Ethics, making them all serve the faith.
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