O Oriens

O DAWN OF THE EAST, brightness of light eternal, and Sun of Justice: COME, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

A prayer of St. Therese of the Child Jesus captures the longing of today's O Antiphon for me:

Lord Jesus, I see myself as a weak little bird, with only a light down covering. I am not an eagle, but I have an eagle's eyes and heart. In spite of my littleness, I dare to gaze upon the Divine Sun, the Sun of Love, and my heart soars like an eagle to fly toward You.

Flapping my small wings, I seek to fly toward the Sun, climbing upwards toward the Divine Furnace of the Holy Trinity. What shall I do, with such small wings?

I shall not be troubled. With bold surrender and cheerful confidence I shall continue gazing upon the Divine Sun. Nothing will frighten me-not the wind nor the rain, nor even dark couds. For I know that beyond any clouds is Your light, and Your Brightness will not be eclipsed for even a single instant.

When tired or hungry or overcome by the burdens of life, I do not hide amid storms, but turn toward the beloved Sun, presenting my helpless wings to Your beneficent rays. I shall gaze at the Sun, until I die. I delight in feeling small and helpless in Your Presence, for my heart is at peace. (Adapted from Story of a Soul)

O Dawn of the East, Come!

New Bishop for Nashville

From the Diocese of Nashville:

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Reverend David R. Choby as the eleventh Bishop of Nashville. Rev. Choby will be ordained a bishop and installed as the eleventh Bishop of Nashville at the Cathedral of the Incarnation at a time to be announced later.

Father Choby, 58, is a native of Nashville and is currently serving as the Administrator of the Diocese of Nashville and pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Gallatin.

As bishop, he will lead a diocese of approximately 75,000 Catholics in 51 parishes and 3 missions. The Diocese of Nashville includes 38 counties in Middle Tennessee.

“I am truly honored and humbled by this appointment,” Rev. Choby said. “I will do my best to respond to the confidence that Pope Benedict places in me.”

O Clavis David

O KEY OF DAVID, and Sceptre of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens: COME, and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.

When John the Baptist sat in Herod's prison he sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask,"Are you he who is to come or should we look for another?" It was a good question, after all John was a captive and the Messiah was to set prisoner's free. Jesus instructed John's disciples to return and tell John what they saw, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the lame walking...in other words the fulfillment of prophecy.

To Peter he would give the power of the keys...to forgive sins, to unleash the real imprisonment that we suffer from in our fallen state. How many of us remain in Herod's prison suffering the effects of evil done to us and the good news of the Gospel falls on our deaf ears, we cannot see it with our blind eyes, we cannot move from where we our with our lame legs?

We need to be rescued from the "shadow of death", to be freed, both forgiven and forgiving. O Key of David, Come!

Keep the MASS in Christmas!

I'll be on Spirit Morning Show tomorrow at 7:15 A.M. (Central Time) talking about keeping the MASS in Christmas.

I was on Teresa Tomeo this morning talking about the same subject.

O Radix Jesse

O ROOT OF JESSE, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: COME, to deliver us, and tarry not.

In the very last chapter of the Bible in Rev. 22:16 we read:

"I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star,"

And in response:

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let him who hears say, "Come." And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.

While this antiphon mirrors the Revelation passage, it calls to mind the passage from Isaiah:

Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

All of this put together is the Gospel message. A new generation will sprout from the cut down branches--the Lord is coming to save all his people. The Revelation passage calls to mind the fulfillment of the promise that is hinted in the antiphon's use of "ensign" in Matthew 2:2:

"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."

A great miracle has taken place, we who await his coming know where He may be found. Every celebration of the Eucharist is another renewal of begging the Lord to come, to come and rescue us! God has become one of us, sharing in our human nature, recognized as King and Lord by those who have no faith but have enough sense to realize this is the "Vine" that they need to be grafted to in order to have eternal life.

O Root of Jesse, Come!

O Adonai

O LORD AND RULER of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: COME, and redeem us with outstretched arms.

The name of God was so sacred and reverred that it was only spoken by the High Priest and then only once a year. Whenever God was referred to in Scripture His name would not be written but rather "Adonai" the Hebrew word that we translate Lord, in Greek it would be "Kyrios". In this reverential "O Antiphon" we have a plea for the Lord to come and save us, the mention of Moses who mediated the redemption of the Jewish tribes from slavery and in the midst of battle won the day as long as he could keep his arms outstretched points to the Lord who will come and redeem us with arms outstretch from the battle that humanity faces both from evil and death.

Redemption, I wonder how much that enters our mind this final week before we celebrate Christmas? A year ago, shortly after Christmas thousands of people were swept to sea to their deaths by a tsunami. Later in the year thousands have died here in our own country from the effects of deadly hurricanes that struck along the Gulf coast. Not to mention the millions who will not celebrate Christmas this year, whose lives ended from any variety of causes including the unnatural one of sin that infects all of creation, that we call original sin.

The "one thing necessary"--that perfect gift--won't be lying under the Christmas tree next Sunday. But the name of the day gives you a clue where you and I can find the Divine medicine offered in response to our prayer today--we will find Him with Mary His Mother and St. Joseph (who's representations stand sentinel in many Catholic Churches on either side of the altar)at Christ's Mass. Every day can be Christmas--
O Lord, Come!

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Pope's Angelus

Go to Joseph!

Michael Dubruiel

From Asia News Italy:

I would like today to turn my attention to the figure of St Joseph. In today?s gospel pages, St Luke presents the Virgin Mary as ?engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David? (Lk 1:27). However it is the evangelist Matthew who gives the greatest prominence to the putative father of Jesus, pointing out that, through him, the Child was legally inserted in David?s line and thus he realized the Scriptures, in which the Messiah was prophesied as the ?son of David?. But Joseph?s role certainly cannot be reduced to this aspect. He is the model of the ?just? man (Mt 1:19), who in perfect sympathy with his spouse, welcomes the Son of God made man and guards over his human growth. For this reason, the days leading up to Christmas are as good a time as ever to establish a sort of spiritual conversation with St Joseph, because he helps us to live to the full this great mystery of faith.

The beloved Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, left us an awesome meditation dedicated to him in the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, "Guardian of the Redeemer". Among the many aspects it highlights, particular emphasis is placed on the silence of St Joseph. His is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to his divine wishes. In other words, the silence of St Joseph was not the sign of an inner void, but on the contrary, of the fullness of faith he carried in his heart, and which guided each and every one of his thoughts and actions...

...Let us allow ourselves to be ?infected? by the silence of St Joseph! We have much need of it in a world which is often too noisy, which does not encourage reflection and listening to the voice of God. In this time of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate interior meditation to welcome and watch over Jesus in our lives.