We’re at the start of the liturgical year again – the wonderful season of Advent.  It’s a time when we eagerly anticipate with the Church the coming out of the darkness a Great Light (Is. 9:2). It’s a time to prepare our souls for the coming of the King, scrubbing the dirt off the windows and doors so we can receive the light of love and mercy when He comes.

Since God made us body and soul, now is a good time to curb the concupiscence of the body and heart to help in the cleaning process of the soul.  Mary at The Beautiful Gate is writing a series on the seven deadly sins as a way to prepare our souls for Christmas.

I’m really enjoying her posts and finding a lot of hidden dirt, personally, that needs to be scrubbed clean in order to celebrate the King’s birthday.  You might enjoy reading those posts as well. If you haven’t been following her on this theme, be sure to go back a couple of weeks and catch up.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.

Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts this meme, which stands for those special moments when we are with God. Be sure to visit her to read about others’ Sabbath Moments, too.

This week I spent time reading Father Lovasik’s book The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls Who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time. It is good, practical spiritual advice for today’s problems.

We made a day trip to Kansas City to the dental school to finish the work being done so I got to thank God for the improvements.  On the way there I finished the book I was reading on Japan, still mulling over the difficulties in evangelizing in their culture and wishing I could go live there for awhile.  

Lastly, I wrote a post with links to short meditations on the O Antiphons.  I’d like to invite readers to visit the post and follow the links for a few Sabbath Moments every day between December 17-23.  This post also has a video of Zoltan Kodaly’s beautiful Veni, Veni Emmanuel which is a real Sabbath Moment to listen to.

Thank you for stopping by and God bless you.

V.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

Tomorrow we begin the wonderful O Antiphons, chanted before and after the Magnificat at Vespers. Last Advent I posted the antiphon for each day with a short commentary.  Please join me in using these links every day to pray the O Antiphons again this year.

December 17: O Sapientia – O Wisdom

December 18: O Adonai

December 19: O Radix Jesse – O Root of Jesse

December 20: O Clavis David – O Key of David

December 21: O Rising Dawn – O Oriens

December 22: O Rex Gentium – O King of the Gentiles

December 23: O Emmanuel

Most Catholics are familiar with the Advent hymn “O come, O come Emmanuel”.  The O Antiphons are the source of this hymn.  Here is the great Hungarian composer, Zoltan Kodaly’s rendering of the Gregorian chant with polyphony by L’Accorche-Choeur, Ensemble vocal Fribourg. Wouldn’t you love to hear this at your parish?

Thank you for stopping by and God bless you.

V.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

King David Playing the Zither, Andrea Celesti (1637-1712 Venice), oil on canvas, private collection

Today’s Psalm is perfect for Advent as we look forward to Christmas with anticipation.  In minute you’ll see why.  Father Paschal Botz, O.S.B. writes:

The holy hill called Zion, a low mountain in Jerusalem, is yet the highest in the world as God’s special dwelling place. The Psalm extols it and is the counterpiece of prayer to Psalm 47, which celebrates God’s Kingship.

Israel stood in proud awe and sacred joy at the sight of Zion and Jerusalem.  We call it the Holy City even today.

The divine favors given it will continue to make it one of the wonders of the world.  God built it and He fortified it.  He chose it in preference to any place on earth.

vs. 9-12 As we had heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God makes it firm forever. O God, we ponder Your kindness within your temple.  As Your name, O God, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.  Of justice your right hand is full; let Mount Sion be glad, let the cities of Juda rejoice, because of Your judgments. [Thanks to the coming of Christ among us, the New Jerusalem awaits us.  From the rising to the setting of the sun we praise Him to the ends of the earth in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Christ, the Just One Who offers Himself to the Father in reparation for our sins, is the loving kindness of the Father personified. The Babe of Bethlehem sanctified us, the unworthy.  Lord, let all the cities of the world praise Your holy name now and forever in the eternal city of our God.]

vs. 13-15 Go about Sion, make the round; count her towers.  Consider her ramparts, examine her castles, that you may tell a future generation that such is God, our God forever and ever; He will guide us. [We go about Sion today in our parish churches, encountering God in the sacraments He gave us to maintain friendship with Him -the humble baptismal fonts the visible sign of the invisible springs of grace; the altars the visible sign of the invisible act of perfect sacrifice; the confessionals the visible sign of the invisible grace of mercy and forgiveness.

We have no choice once we believe.  We must shout through the ages until time ceases the glory of His divine mercy and power manifested in human form in that stable one cold night in Bethlehem.

Faithful Christians now are the towers, ramparts, and castles of Mount Sion, the Mystical Body of Christ. We are and will be guided by Him - the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and because of His loving kindness, we will be given the grace to rise when we fall.

May all those He calls gather first at Bethlehem and see Him with humble eyes of faith, hope, and charity.  Let us, no tourists of Old Jerusalem, we, but reborn citizens with the saints and members of God's household (Eph. 2:19) praise Him forever in glory as did the angels and shepherds on that first night of our salvation.]

V.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

Magnificat Antiphon for the Second Sunday of Advent (Divine Office, Vespers):

Behold there shall come the Lord and King of the earth * and He shall take away our yoke of bondage.

This antiphon contains parts of the Rorate caeli desuper I covered yesterday.

*****

From my Advent reading, the book The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls Who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time by Father Lawrence Lovasik (1913-1986):

To do good to others in the hope that, in turn, our Lord will be good to you is a supernatural motive, even if it is self-centered. To do good to others with the consciousness that Christ asks it of you is less egoistic.  To do good to others because you are convinced that Christ will consider it as having been done to Him personally is a sign of pure love of God.  To do good to others because thereby you can please God, and you want to give Him the best you can, is perfect love of God.

Three Miracles of Zenobius, 1500-05, Sandro Botticelli (b. 1445, Firenze, d. 1510, Firenze), tempera on panel, Metropolitan Museum of New York

In front of an astonished crowd, St. Zenobius raises a young man already lying on his bier from the dead. He also saves a man who fell from his horse while transporting the relics of saints. The scene in the interior shows St. Zenobius healing his sick deacon. The latter gets up immediately in order to use the water St. Zenobius has blessed to bring a dead relative back to life. For enlargement, visit the Web Gallery of Art.

V.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

Sabbath Moments are the times when we rest in the Lord.  Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts this meme every Saturday, so visit her to read other bloggers’ special moments with God.

This week I made myself be peaceful in the dentist’s chair as I went through the next phase of the crown work.  It’s a good thing I had this 4 hour opportunity to offer it up!

In addition to writing a couple of posts for this blog, I worked hard on getting my new business blog ready for live traffic.  Design work is such a creative process that I feel close to God when I’m doing it – as if we are partners. Of course, I couldn’t do any art or design work without Him. He is the Author of all that is beautiful and harmonious.

The other big job I did this week was to write an article for the monthly newsletter I publish for Una Voce Arkansas Ozarks.  It’s about how Mary and Joseph likely spent the four weeks before Jesus was born. Their advent was far different from ours.  This has been quite a meditation for me, as I am filled with admiration for the challenges they faced and their complete trust in God – a lesson I need to learn often.  When the newsletter is published I’ll put a link to it at this blog.

V.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

Welcome to Sabbath Moments, times when we are in a special way, with God.  Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts this meme every Saturday, so be sure to visit her to read others’ Sabbath Moments.

This week was a take-it-easy week as hubby and I continue to recover from our upper respiratory infections.  Thanksgiving was peaceful since neither of us was up to going anywhere.  It rained and then it snowed, but Friday morning was just lovely.

I awoke to bright sunlight and a dusting of snow like powdered sugar on the honeysuckle, grass, and trees.  Thursday’s rain drops had frozen on tree branches and the few leaves left clinging to them.  They sparkled gloriously like little crystal beads in the sweet light of morning, remaining that way for a couple of hours until vanishing in the climbing temperatures.

Another Sabbath Moment will be today when I join the Holy Father in his global prayer for life.  At the Angelus on November 14, the Holy Father said,

“On Saturday November 27, at the Basilica of Saint Peter, I will preside over the First Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent and a prayer vigil for the unborn. It is a joint initiative with local churches around the world, I have advised that they be held in parishes, religious communities, associations and movements.

“The time of preparation for Christmas is an opportune moment to invoke divine protection upon every human being called into existence, also to thank God for the gift of life received from our parents.”

Card. Ennio Antonelli, President, Pontifical Council for the Family said,

“It’s asking God to increase the sense of responsibility for the care of human life from conception to natural death. Especially with the unborn life which is the embryo in the womb of the mother, as well as babies in general.  It’s also to increase accountability and respect for every person, especially for the weak and innocent.”

What better way to celebrate the beginning of Advent than joining with people all over the world to pray for God’s Divine protection of life?

V.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

O Emmanuel, Rex et Legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et salvator earum; veni ad salvandum nos, Domine Deus noster.

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expectation and Savior of the nations, come and save us, O Lord our God.

Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

Isaiah: 33: 22: For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us.

Emmanuel means “God with us”.  Jesus promised He would be with us until the end of time.  We find him in the Holy Eucharist.  We receive Him into our hearts at Holy Communion. We ask him to come and rule over our hearts, to help us to live according to His laws. We await His coming this Christmas with great expectation.

And how will we know He has come?  We see him in the arms of Mary, the virgin of virgins, the most holy and perfect virgin.  She presents Emmanuel to us to bow down before and adore.

O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum; veni, et salva hominem quem de limo formasti.

O King of nations, and their desired One, and the cornerstone that makest both one; come and save man whom Thou formed out of clay.

Isaiah 9:7: His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Haggai 2: 7-9: And I will move all nations: and the Desired of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory: saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. Great shall be the glory of this last house more than of the first, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place I will give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.

Eph. 2: 14-16: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and breaking down the middle wall of partition, the enmities in his flesh: Making void the law of commandments contained in decrees; that he might make the two in himself into one new man, making peace; And might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross…

Eph. 2: 19-20: Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone…

Gen. 2: 7: And the Lord God formed man of the clay of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

Jesus comes to unite all Israel and the Gentiles into one body by the Cross of salvation.  He is the cornerstone upon which the family of God is built. In today’s antiphon, we ask Him to save us – to reshape us, reform us, take away our sins, to change us into what He wants us to be, we who were formed out of clay.

O oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae; veni et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Orient, splendor of eternal light, and Sun of justice, come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Isaiah 9:2: The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen.

Oriens means dawn, the sun rising in the east.  Sometimes it is called “Dayspring”.  From the earliest days of the Church, Mass was celebrated ad orientem, that is, facing east from whence we know the Savior will come again.

We seek the light that is Christ in our daily lives – our prayer, our work, and our sufferings and joys.  Jesus is waiting for us to ask Him to light the way.

We seek the Sun of justice.  He is coming again to give all men their due.  With His help we say “yes” to love and will merit eternal life.

John 8:12 …I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

O Clavis David et aceptrum domus Israel, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit; veni et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel Who openist and no man shutteth: Who shuttest, and no man openeth; come, and lead the captive from prison, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Isaiah 22:22: And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open.

Isaiah 9:6: For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.

Ps 106:13-14: Then they cried to the Lord in their need and he rescued them from their distress. He led them forth from darkness and gloom and broke their chains to pieces.

Jesus is the key who opens the door to the prison where we have been chained because of our sins.  The darkness of our intellect gets us into trouble again and again.  But the Key of David can unlock our hearts if we let Him, and we can flee the darkness and shadow of death to choose eternal life.  If we let Him – it is the meaning of free will – the right to choose without any constraint that which is good.  Jesus never forsakes us when we cry for mercy, when we open our hearts to Him.  Say “yes” to Love.

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum opulorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse, who standest as the ensign of the people; before whom kings shall not open their lips; to whom the nations shall pray: come and deliver us; tarry now no more.

Isaiah 11:1: And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.

Isaiah 11:10: In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be glorious.

Romans 15:8-13: For I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. But that the Gentiles are to glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: Therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and will sing to thy name.

And again he saith: Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again: Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and magnify him, all ye people. And again Isaias saith: There shall be a root of Jesse; and he that shall rise up to rule the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing; that you may abound in hope, and in the power of the Holy Ghost.

Apocalypse 5:1-5 : And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it. And one of the ancients said to me: Weep not; behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

This antiphon, like the others, foreshadows the means by which salvation shall come: J esus on the cross is the ensign of all the people of the world. Rulers are struck dumb by the victory of the cross.  Jesus has put down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly. He is the one who came to draw all to Himself. All nations will beseech His mercy, forsaking earthly kings and turning to the King of Kings.

Come, Jesus, lion of the tribe of Judah, and do not tarry. Deliver us from our enemies.

O Adonai, et dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, eet ei in Sina legem dedisti, veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the flaming bush, and gavest him the law on Sinai; come and redeem us by thy outstretched arm.

Isaiash11:4-5: But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity the meek of the earth: and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of his loins: and faith the girdle of his reins.

Isaiah 33:22: For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: He will save us.

This day we call God “Adonai”, the Sacred Lord, Master of all, Majesty. The Hebrews used this word in the place of the holy and unutterable name which they were forbidden to pronounce, even to today.  The Church recalls the giving of the law to Moses, the law that we are born with written on our hearts, and the power of God to deliver us from slavery to Satan.

God is not coming this time in power and glory with trumpets and thunder. The most high God is about to appear as a helpless baby in the still of the night.  His outstretched arm on the humiliation of the Cross is our redemption.  He comes in the power of humbleness to save us from our pride.

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia; veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, that proceedest from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end mightily, and disposing all things sweetly, come and teach us the way of prudence.

Isaiah spoke of the Messiah:

Isaiah 11:2-3: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord, He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears.

Isaiah 28:29: This also is come forth from the Lord God of hosts, to make his counsel wonderful, and magnify justice.

God disposes sweetly through Caesar Augustus who issued a decree ordering the enrollment of the whole world in the city of their birth.  And so it was that the prophesy of Micah 5:2 was fulfilled:

And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.

The Virgin and her dear husband Joseph journeyed to the little town of Bethlehem, the house of Bread, to obey Caesar, and so the prophecy was fulfilled.  God’s wisdom is unbounded.  He does not judge by our eyes or ears, but by His infinite wisdom.

“…teach us the way of prudence”, one of the four cardinal virtues on which all other virtues hinge.   Wisdom is knowledge of the Divine.  If our purpose on earth is to know God, to love and serve Him in this world so that we may be happy with Him in the next, then wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is something we must not only spend a lifetime seeking, it is necessary for the development of prudence.

St. Thomas Acquinas tells us that prudence is of the intellect. The more deeply we know God the more our intellects can apprehend what is prudent in the eyes of God and the more likely we are to exercise our will in union with His.  Acting in union with God brings peace and joy, certainty to the heart.  The Church cries out for us all, “O Wisdom…come…”.

December 16, 2009

Now is a busy time for many.  In the midst of the Christmas preparations, we mustn’t forget Who is coming, Whom we are getting ready for.  In all the rushing around this season, what are we doing to prepare to receive Him? I found three beautiful traditions, one liturgical, any one of which adopted or varied helps to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Thanks to the Catholics of Central Europe, we have the beautiful tradition of the “Golden Nights” of Advent, so called because the festivities took place after dark or before sunrise.  From the Alps comes the custom of carrying an image or statue of the Blessed Virgin from house to house on the nine evenings before Christmas Eve.  It is placed on a table between candles and flowers with families gathered around singing hymns of honor to Our Lady the Expectant Mother.

In Central and South America, the Novena of the Holy Child is celebrated in churches around the Christmas crib which is empty until Jesus arrives at midnight, Christmas. People sing hymns and carols and say prayers.(Francis X. Weisner, “Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs.”  New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1958, p. 56-57)

Vespers is the hour of the Divine Office the Church has chosen to celebrate the solemn supplication to the Divine Redeemer through the “O Antiphons”, yet another way of bringing the Golden Nights alive every Advent. Dom Gueranger tells us in his The Liturgical Year that Vespers was chosen because “it was in the evening of the world that the Messias came amongst us.”  I love the antiphons – they make me think hard on what Jesus means to all mankind and me personally, and how God kept his promise to Adam.

This is a time when some who are sick and suffering can do what others cannot because of pressing responsibilities: pray the Divine Office, one of the official liturgies of the Church.  It is also a time when a great kindness can be done for those who cannot help themselves, or who are especially lonely or sad during the Christmas season.  Finding a way to make the Golden Nights come alive for others is a way to bring Jesus into their hearts and perhaps help them look forward to His birthday with more joy.  It can lighten the load of a troubled heart. We are only limited by our creativity.

I will post the “O Antiphon” of the day each day at this site, along with related scripture and comments.