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Summary of comments of this office by Dom Schuster, in his work L'année liturgique.
The Introït of this Sunday was adapted to the feast of the Hypapante, or the Purification, in which the Orientals celebrate the meeting of Simeon and the Child Jesus in the courtyard of the temple: such seems to be the original meaning of the feast, even at Rome.
The versicle of the psalm executed at the Communion today is the same as in the Oriental rite, where it is usually sung during the distribution of the holy Mysteries. It is worth noting that this usage seems to predate the institution of psalmody during Communion in the Latin rite.
The versicle of the Introït is taken from Psalm 47: "We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy temple; according to Thy name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of justice."
The Gradual is the same as the one executed for the fourth Monday of Lent. The first verse is taken from Psalm 30: "Be Thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of refuge, to save me." In the second verse of today's Gradual, taken from Psalm 70, is added: "In Thee, O God, have I hoped: O Lord, let me never be confounded."
The Alleluia versicle (it is known that the series of these verses for the Sundays of the year is a little uncertain in the Gregorian tradition: Alleluia, quale volueris, is found in the ancient manuscripts) is in harmony- according to the rule, moreover-with the psalm of the Introït: "Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain."
The versicle of the Offertory, taken today from Psalm 17, is the same as the one for the Friday before Passion Sunday: "Thou wilt save the humble people, O Lord, and wilt bring down the eyes of the proud; for who is God but Thee, O Lord?"
The antiphon of the Communion reproduces exactly the text of the original chant, originating with the Orientals, and imitated later by the Latins. There is, however, this difference between the two rites: in the Roman, the antiphon for the Communion is borrowed indifferently from all the parts of the Psalter, whereas in the Oriental, at least since the time of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, only one verse is used for the distribution of Communion, this line from Psalm 33: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in Him."
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