O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no one can close; you close and no one can open. O come and bring captives out of the prison house, those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
We believe that these barren branches will sprout new green growth come Spring
O Root of Jesse, you stand as an ensign to the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths and nations will bow in worship. O Come and deliver us and do not tarry.
Probably this is as close as I’ll ever come to a burning bush
O Adonai and Leader of the House of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
Today we sing, “O Wisdom”, or as it was in the original Latin in the 7th century, “O Sapientia”.
O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and reach from one end of the earth to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things. O come and teach us the way of prudence.
If you have ever sung the Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” you have sung the O Antiphons. And while this song has been sung, in recent years, throughout the Advent and Christmas season. Traditionally, these antiphons are chanted before the Magnificat during evening prayer – from December 17th thru the 23rd (a different antiphon each day). These “O” antiphons address the Christ who is coming to us with a different biblical title. Originally these were chanted in Latin, and the first letters of the titles, read in reverse order, form the acrostic (also in Latin) “Ero cras”, which means “I will be with you tomorrow”, in answer to our prayer for Christ to come to us.
This week, as we anticipate the coming of Christ . . . the dawning of the light . . . in our lives, OPreach will celebrate these O Antiphons each day.
May the Blessings of Emmanuel – God with us – rest upon each of us as we approach Christmas Day.
This tiled image of La Virgincita de Guadalupe adorns the exterior of the convent of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at their retreat center in Los Gatos.
Of the forty-five popes who have reigned since the creation of the miraculous portrait (of Our Lady of Guadalupe), twenty-five have issued decrees concerning it. The earliest recorded decree is that of Pop Gregory XIII, dated 1575, that extended the indulgences granted by his predecessors. This implies that indulgences were granted shortly after the apparitions of 1531. Our Lady of Guadalupe was appointed National Patroness by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754. December 12 was set aside as a Day of Obligation, with an octave which could be celebrated with a special Mass and Office. The same pontiff wrote: “In the image everything is miraculous, an image emanating from flowers gathered on completely barren soil on which only prickly shrubs can grow…an image in no manner deteriorated, neither in her supreme loveliness nor in its sparkling color…God has not done likewise to any other nation.”
– Joan Carroll Cruz, Miraculous Images of Our Lady, P. 296
Let us pray: O God, of infinite compassion, you have revealed your most tender mercy in the consoling words spoken to your servant, Juan Diego, by our Lady of Guadalupe. Bless all the native peoples of the Americas and of every land and may we all come to realize that our true and lasting integrity is in Jesus, our loving Savior. Amen
Quote and prayer from Peoples Companion to the Breviary, published by the Carmelites of Indiana in 1997
Today’s reading is from the beginning of the Gospel of Mark.
The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way. A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.
This beautiful path may not feel like wilderness – but here is my friend Patty preparing, not the way, but lunch.
Our Advent Journey begins with the Gospel reading from Mark 13:33-37
We all live in the shadow of both beauty and disaster. How attentive is our watching?
Jesus said to his disciples:”Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
OPreach 