Six months to Christmas

The ecumenical charity ChurchAds.net launched its new poster for its Christmas advertising campaign on Wednesday. It shows an ultrasound scan of a foetus with a halo.

The chairman of the charity, Francis Goodwin, said that the poster picked up on the trend of announcing a new child with an ultrasound photo. Last year’s campaign, using a painting of the Holy Family in a bus shelter, was supported by more than 700 churches. Organisers hope to more than double the number this year. Mr Goodwin said: “By booking soon, church groups can buy a two-week display at their local bus stop for £150.”

O PASTOR ISRAEL

O Shepherd of Israel and Ruler of the house of David, whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days: Come and feed Thy people in the strength of the Lord, and reign in judgment and righteousness.

Micah v. 2, 4; Ezekiel xxxiv. 16, &c.; Isaiah xxxii, 16, &c; Psalm lxxx. 1.

O Lord Jesu Christ, the true Shepherd whom the LORD promised
to set up over His people Israel,
to tend and rule them in judgment and righteousness;
Thou art the Eternal Son of the Father,
one with Him in majesty and might;
none can pluck out of Thy hand the sheep
for whom Thou didst lay down Thy life.
Come, we pray Thee, and tend the sheep and lambs of Thy flock,
protect them from the attacks of the enemy,
and bring them in safety to Thy everlasting fold

O SANCTE SANCTORUM

O Holy of Holies, the spotless mirror of the power of God, and the image of His goodness: Come and blot out iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness.

Wisdom vii. 26; Daniel ix. 24; Colossians ii. 9; 2 Corinthians iv. 6; John xiv. 9; 1 John ii. 2, iii. 8; Revelation xxi. 5; 2 Peter iii. 13.

O Lord Jesu Christ, promised as the Holy One,
the anointed Priest and Prince,
who should make reconciliation for iniquity
and bring in everlasting righteousness;
Thou art indeed the Most Holy,
the very Shrine of the Godhead;
Thou art the spotless mirror of the majesty of God,
and the image of His goodness;
in Thy face the glory of God shines forth.
Thou, Jesus Christ the Righteous,
art the propitiation for our sins
and for the whole world:
Come, we pray Thee, and put forth the might of Thy grace,
and destroy the works of the devil,
whom Thou didst vanquish on the cross,
and restore all things to their perfection.
According to Thy promise we look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness.

O EMMANUEL

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations, and their Saviour: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Isaiah vii. 14, viii. 8, xxxii. 1; Psalm lxxii; Genesis xlix. 10; Haggai ii. 7; Luke i. 71, 74, 75.

O Lord Jesu Christ, Who wast foretold as the king
in whom God would manifest his presence,
Who should reign in righteousness,
bringing peace and happiness to all peoples;
Thou art Thyself indeed Emmanuel,
the very Son and Word of God made man:
Come, we pray Thee, by Thy grace, and reign over us,
so saving us from our spiritual enemies
and from the hand of all that hate us,
that we may serve Thee without fear
in holiness and righteousness
all the days of our life.

O REX GENTIUM

O King of the Gentiles, and their Desire, the Corner-stone, Who madest both one: Come and save man, whom Thou hast formed out of the dust of the earth.

Acts xvii. 26; Ephesians ii. 14; Isaiah xlv. 22; Psalm cxiii. 6-8; xlvii. 9.

O Lord Jesu Christ, for Whom all peoples yearn,
even though they know not whom they seek;
Thou hast made of one blood all nations
to dwell on the face of the whole earth;
and Thou dost bind together Jew and Gentile
in the one body of Thy catholic Church:
Come, we pray Thee, and by Thy truth and grace
raise man whom Thou didst make out of the dust of the earth,
from his low condition,
and set him in Thy holy Church with the princes,
even with the princes of Thy people.

O ORIENS

O ORIENS

O Orient, Brightness of the Eternal Light, and Sun of Righteousness: Come, and lighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Luke i. 78, 79; Malachi iv. 2; Wisdom vii. 26; Hebrews i. 3; John i. 4, 5; Titus iii. 4; Luke vii. 22; Ephesians v. 8-14.

O Lord Jesu Christ, Who art the outshining of Thy Father's glory,
Light streaming forth from Light:
Thou didst come in the incarnation
to our poor darkened world
as the Sun of Righteousness
bringing healing in Thy beams,
dispelling noxious influences,
and gladdening men's hearts with the good news
of their Father's kindness and love for man:
Come, we pray Thee, now by Thy grace,
and through Thy Church let Thy truth and love shine forth to all that are in the darkness
of sin or ignorance or error;
penetrate the hidden recesses of our hearts,
and enlighten the cruel habitations of the earth.

O CLAVIS DAVID

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, Thou that openest and no one shutteth, and shuttest and no one openeth: Come, and loose the prisoner from the prison-house, and him that sitteth in darkness from the shadow of death.

Isaiah xxii. 22, xlii. 7; Revelation iii. 7; Luke i. 32; Mark ii. 10; Matthew xxviii. 18, xvi. 18, 19.

O Lord Jesu Christ, to Whom is given the throne and sceptre of David Thy father over the house of Israel,
that Thou mighest extend his kingdom over all peoples:
Thou didst come in our nature,
as the Son of man forgiving sins,
dispelling sickness and loosing bonds:
to Thee now is committed all authority in heaven and on earth,
and the powers of hell cannot withstand Thy word:
Come, we pray Thee, by Thy grace, and through the instrumentality of Thy Church,
to loosen the prisoner from the chains of sin,
to enlighten with the glad tidings of Thy word all who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
that they may rejoice in the deliverance which Thou hast wrought.

O RADIX JESSE

O Root of Jesse, Who standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom kings shall shut their mouths, unto Whom the Gentiles shall pray: Come and deliver us, and tarry not.

Isaiah xi. 1, 10, lii, 15; Romans i. 3; Matthew xxviii. 19, 20.

O Lord Jesu Christ, the new shoot from the hewn down stump of Jesse's line,
in whom all the promises should be fulfilled;
the champion of Thy people,
to whom the Gentile nations should turn in submission and obedience:
Thou hast come of the seed of David according to the flesh,
being born in obscurity of a maiden of the royal line;
Thou hast set up Thy holy catholic Church,
commanding Thine apostles to make disciples of all nations
and to train all peoples in obedience to Thy holy commandments:
Come now, we pray Thee, by Thy grace, and tarry not,
hasten the manifestation of Thy kingdom;
grant that Thy Church may continually be increased
by the gathering in of new children to Thee,
and perfected by the increasing devotion of those who have been regenerated.

0 ADONAI

O Lord and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who appearedst unto Moses in a flame of fire in the bush, and gavest unto him the Law in Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Acts 7:30, 28; Hebrews 12:18-21, 10:16.

O Lord Jesu Christ, Who as the Angel of the Lord
didst rule and guard God's people of old;
Who didst appear to Moses in the burning bush,
that told of Thy presence hallowing but not consuming,
and of Thy people's preservation through fiery trials;
Who didst give the Law in Sinai
in could and majesty and awe;
Thou didst come to visit mankind oppressed
and didst redeem us therefrom
by the victory of Thy Passion:
Come, we pray Thee, now by Thy grace,
and with Thine outstretched arm deliver us
from the bondage of evil habits
from the crafts and assaults of Satan,
from the tyrrany of the world,
and the disorder into which our nature has fallen
Write in our hearts by Thy Spirit
the law in obedience to which we shall find our true freedom,
Thy law of truth and purity and love.

O SAPIENTIA

O Wisdom, Which camest forth out of the mouth of the Most High, and reachest from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Wisdom viii. 1, ix. 4, 9, 10; Proverbs viii. 22, sq.; Hebrews i. 1; John i. 3; Ecclesiasticus xxxiv. 3. sq.

O Lord Jesu Christ, who art the very Wisdom of God most high,
by whom He made the world, impressing on His creation
the reflexion of His own power and goodness;
Who dost uphold the world in its being and harmony,
as Thou reachest from one end to the other
mightily and sweetly ordering all things;
Who didst visit God's prophets and servants of old,
giving them ever fuller knowledge of His mind and will;
Thou in the fulness of time didst come forth in the incarnation,
clothing Thyself in our nature and living amidst our conditions,
to teach us the way of prudence--
how to use the complex nature Thou hadst framed,
how to escape the snares and temptations by which we are surrounded,
how to attain the blessedness which Thou hast prepared for us.
Blessed be Thy Name for Thy teaching by word and by example,
for the testimony of Thine Apostles and the record of the Scriptures,
for the continual guidance of Thy Spirit and the witness of Thy Saints.

Come now, we pray Thee, by Thy grace
to Thy Church and people,
and teach us in our day and need
the way of prudence--
how best to promote Thy Father's glory,
and extend Thy kingdom,
and win our perfect life,
as we so pass through things temporal
as not to lose the things eternal.

Advent Antiphons

The Advent Antiphons
With Scripture references and paraphrases.

By A.C.A. Hall, Bishop of Vermont.

Milwaukee: The Young Churchman; London: A.R. Mowbray & Co., n.d. but c. 1914.

---

The Advent Antiphons in preparation for Christmas, based on Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah under various titles and figures, are found in eleventh century manuscripts. But they must be of much earlier origin; for Amalarius, a French liturgical scholar of the first half of the ninth century, added an eighth to the older seven. This, O Virgo virginum, is not on parallel lines with the others, nor is it found in the Roman Breviary, but it had place in the Sarum.

The O's are not found at all in the Ambrosian Breviary, which has an Advent of six weeks, the last Sunday being a commemoration of the Annunciation.

The Parisian Breviary (1735), of which a marked characteristic is the use of Holy Scripture in antiphons and responds, adds two to the original seven Advent Antiphons, of like nature with them, O Sancte Sanctorum, and O Pastor Israel. Thus provision is made for a complete Novena, from December 15 to 23, before Christmas Eve.

The Roman Breviary does not begin the Antiphons till December 17, but December 16 is the English date (marked in the Prayer Book Kalendar as O Sapientia), either St. Thomas's Day being otherwise provided for, or O Virgo virginum being added as an eighth.

The Antiphons were sung at Vespers before and after the Magnificat.

Dr. Neale supposes that about the twelfth century an unknown author took five of the seven Antiphons and wove them into a hymn, Veni, veni, Emmanuel; but this hymn has not been traced further back than the Psalter of Catholic Canticles published at Cologne in 1722.

The following pages give, with each Antiphon, a devotional paraphrase expanding its prayer, and references to the leading Scripture passage on which the Antiphon and its paraphrase are based.

(Poustinia 24 hours at madonnahouse, robin hoods bay)

PASS IT ON #65

Rise, Sun of Justice!

by a Madonna House Staff Worker

“O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” (Liturgy of the Hours, for December 23rd)

The Church’s yearning for the rising Sun, the Son of God, is a theme which speaks eloquently to us who dwell in the Yukon. Here in the northland, the dark of the December solstice is deep indeed,. Night, though not in total command, as in the Arctic region, arrogantly grasps many hours of the day. The light spared is further dimmed by overcast sky, storms of snow, and frigid fog. This twilight grip of night wrings hues from color and ashens life’s vigor. It yields shadowed images and jail-like pallor. The sun seems to dally long in the South, basking in warmer climes, and is hesitant to ascend to his polar throne. Will he ever return?

But twilight does promise dawn; night does herald the day. Here, even the longest night will bear and bring forth the infant day. There comes the gift of cloudless sky. Glimpses of the young sun at play in his southern yard reveal a glory heightened by its brief duration. Then higher are his bright leaps into our gray firmament. What promise there is in the sun’s ascending! Surely night’s dominion does cease.

In this dark season how fitting is the Advent liturgy that yearns for “the radiance of eternal light,” that cries, “Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,” and that names the expected Savior: “Sun of Justice.”

How fitting is the Christmas Mass that proclaims, “Your nativity, O Christ our God, has shed the light of knowledge upon the world.” How timeless and deep is this human longing to which the Church gives voice. How timely is day-seeking for us for whom the glad light is often constrained in the shadows of our souls, or for whom the pallid ashes of the passing year pose the question: Has the Sun of Justice really risen in our heart?

Rise, Sun of Justice, seek out our clouded hearts. Push back the gray of chaos, pierce the grip of night, and enkindle our ashen embers. Rise, O Sun of Justice, rise!

Year round, Jesus answers this plea. He offers himself as daybreak in our hearts, and through us to the world. “I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) And he tells us, “You are the light of the world; your light must shine in the sight of men so that seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5:14-16) Is it not the light of our good actions that can dawn on men—the light of being compassionate as our heavenly Father is compassionate? Jesus is firm: “Love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return.” (Luke 6:27, 35) The light we measure out is the amount of light we will be given back.

God’s light is our hope and our destiny. We are on a journey from night into God’s light; our faith is assured of this in the daily liturgy:

“Father in heaven, it is right that we should give you thanks and glory. You alone are God, living and true. Through all eternity you live in unapproachable light. Source of life and goodness, you have created all things, to fill your creatures with every blessing and lead all men to the joyful vision of your light.”

— Adapted from Coming Home

Advent on the Internet

“CARE for the world — it’s the only one we have,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu appealed yesterday in the videocast that launched the C of E’s online Advent calendar. Each day offers a video story from a different diocese or agency and is a challenge to change the world. They range from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s reflections on the Copenhagen summit to the Chief Rabbi’s suggestions for “sabbath moments”. Each one has an accom panying Bible passage and prayer. The daily videocasts will be posted on YouTube and promoted on Twitter. They include meditative projects such as the Quiet Garden movement; lifestyle initiatives such as one in Birmingham to send re cycled presents; community projects such as a fruit and veg market in St Andrew’s, Fulham Fields; and energy-saving projects such as solar panels on a Lincoln church. A Fresh Expressions beach-hut church in Brighton and Hove has its own online Advent calendar, “Beyond”. The doors open to reveal Christmas images from the Advent Beach Hut Calendar last year, which happens again this year along the Hove seafront. Every evening, from 1 December, a different hut is the venue for a “seasonal surprise”, culminating in mince pies and mulled wine on Christmas Day. The charity Damaris, which works to relate Christian faith and contemporary culture, has also created an Advent video calendar for churches, organisations, and indivi duals to put on their websites. It features reflections from speakers such as the author Philip Yancey, and Canon Andrew White.

Sentamu's Advent

Archbishop: "Please Walk With Me This Advent"

Friday 27 November 2009

This Advent I would like to invite you to join me in saying the Litany from Common Worship (as adapted) and the Prayer of General Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer as part of your daily prayers.

The Litany may be used as part of, or instead of the Intercessions. At Morning Prayer the General Thanksgiving can be used at the end, and in the Eucharist it may replace the Post-Communion Prayer when using Common Worship.

My prayer times will be morning, midday and evening. Please pray with me.

I wish you a blessed and prayerful Advent.

+Sentamu

THE LITANY (from Common Worship – Parts I – III adapted)

I

Let us pray.

God the Father,

All have mercy upon us.

God the Son,

All have mercy upon us.

God the Holy Spirit,

All have mercy upon us.

Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity,

All have mercy upon us.

II

From all evil and mischief;

from pride, vanity and hypocrisy;

from envy, hatred and malice;

and from all evil intent,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

From sloth, worldliness and love of money;

from hardness of heart

and contempt for your word and your laws,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

From sins of body and mind;

from the deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

From famine and disaster;

from violence, murder and dying unprepared,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

In all times of sorrow;

in all times of joy;

in the hour of death,

and at the day of judgement,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

III

By the mystery of your holy incarnation;

by your birth, childhood and obedience;

by your baptism, fasting and temptation,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

By your ministry in word and work;

by your mighty acts of power;

and by your preaching of the kingdom,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

By your agony and trial;

by your cross and passion;

and by your precious death and burial,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

By your mighty resurrection;

by your glorious ascension;

and by your sending of the Holy Spirit,

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

graciously deliver us.

IV

Hear our prayers, O Lord our God.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Govern and direct your holy Church;

fill it with love and truth;

and grant it that unity which is your will.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Give us boldness to preach the gospel in all the world,

and to make disciples of all the nations.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Enlighten N our Bishop and all who minister

with knowledge and understanding,

that by their teaching and their lives

they may proclaim your word.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Give your people grace to hear and receive your word,

and to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bring into the way of truth all who have erred

and are deceived.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Strengthen those who stand;

comfort and help the faint-hearted;

raise up the fallen;

and finally beat down Satan under our feet.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

V

Guide the leaders of the nations

into the ways of peace and justice.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Guard and strengthen your servant Elizabeth our Queen,

that she may put her trust in you,

and seek your honour and glory.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Endue the High Court of Parliament

and all the Ministers of the Crown

with wisdom and understanding.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bless those who administer the law,

that they may uphold justice, honesty and truth.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Give us the will to use the resources of the earth to your glory,

and for the good of all creation.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bless and keep all your people.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

Bring your joy into all families;

strengthen and deliver those in childbirth,

watch over children and guide the young,

bring reconciliation to those in discord

and peace to those in stress.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

mercifully hear us.

VI

Help and comfort the lonely, the bereaved and the oppressed.

All Lord, have mercy.

Keep in safety those who travel, and all who are in danger.

All Lord, have mercy.

Heal the sick in body and mind,

and provide for the homeless, the hungry and the destitute.

All Lord, have mercy.

Show your pity on prisoners and refugees,

and all who are in trouble.

All Lord, have mercy.

Forgive our enemies, persecutors and slanderers,

and turn their hearts.

All Lord, have mercy.

Hear us as we remember

those who have died in the peace of Christ,

both those who have confessed the faith

and those whose faith is known to you alone,

and grant us with them a share

in your eternal kingdom.

All Lord, have mercy.

VII

Give us true repentance;

forgive us our sins of negligence and ignorance

and our deliberate sins;

and grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit

to amend our lives according to your holy word.

All Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

have mercy upon us.

PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING

(from the Book of Common Prayer)

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,

we thine unworthy servants

do give thee most humble and hearty thanks

for all thy goodness and loving-kindness

to us and to all men;

[particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them.]

We bless thee for our creation, preservation,

and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for thine inestimable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,

for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And we beseech thee, give us that due sense

of all thy mercies,

that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful,

and that we shew forth thy praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives;

by giving up ourselves to thy service,

and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness

all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost

be all honour and glory, world without end.

Amen.

CAFOD Advent

E-ALERT NOVEMBER 2009 ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS

Pray with us this Advent, and please support our Christmas Appeal to help former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Thousands of children are still caught up in the conflict there, forced to become part of brutal armed groups. We hope to raise £150,000 to buy carpentry toolkits and the training they need to start a happier chapter in their life.

Nicolas Ntemuanengu, our DRC programme officer, says: "These children have been forced to become part of a brutal killing machine and are deeply traumatised. It is incredibly difficult to help them learn a peaceful new way of life.

"Yet, with incredible places like the centre in Goma, we have the tools to help. To help them back into family life would be a beautiful way to mark this special time of year."

Whatever you can afford really makes a difference.

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Silence Prepares Us

(Today's first reading at mass)

PASS IT ON #64

Silence Prepares Us for the Coming of Christ

by Catherine Doherty

When peaceful silence lay over all,
And night had run the half of her swift course,
Down from the heavens, from the royal throne, leapt your all-powerful Word;
Into the heart of a doomed land.
(Wisdom 18: 14-15)

It is not easy to be silent, but it is necessary if we are to begin our journey inward to meet the God who dwells within us. Jesus Christ said, “My Father and I and the Holy Spirit will come and dwell within you.”

Silence can also become a cradle. Silence is the cradle of the Incarnation of God, for there was a great and awesome silence when God was born.

I make a cradle out of my heart for any one of you to rest in like a child. As Christ said, “Unless you become like little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” That’s why my favorite prayer is: “Lord, give me the heart of a child and the awesome courage to live it out as an adult.”

Silence is also an inn. There was a Good Samaritan who picked up the man besieged by robbers. Who of us is not besieged by robbers today? Who of us does not need an inn where all is rest and peace and silence? This is what silence does; it becomes the highest communication, the quickest way to peace, the cradle for a child, an inn for the weary and tired.

Silence produces all this if you and I fall in love with God. For it is out of that love, that fantastic union that only God could devise for us, that silence can become all those things.

What does the world need most of all? It needs to touch God. Through silence I realize that I can touch Jesus Christ everywhere. Silence is the key to many secrets of God. Why don’t we ask him to give it to us?

Lovers, married people, close friends—all will say that there are moments in their lives when words fall away as if they were old rags—they’ve become useless. Love cannot deal with them. Love can only deal with silence. It’s a silence pregnant with God, filled with love. Wherever there is loving communicative silence, there is God.

It is God who bids us enter into communication. The Father spoke the Word. The Word became incarnate, became a man, our Lord Jesus Christ, who walked among us. He is present among us now; Christ is in our midst. He is this Word that is really the essence of communication.

We go to Mass and receive Holy Communion—we communicate with God. He enters into us and he becomes part of us. This is done so silently. We receive a piece of bread: God. There is silence between two lovers—God and man. The mystery of God meets the mystery of man. This is where real communication begins, when I am in communion with God, with the Most Holy Trinity.

There is un-peace in our hearts, and in the world. Why is there violence everywhere? Because we are not silent. We have not lifted our hearts to God. We have not communicated with him. We have not taken inner counsel with one another. That is to say, that counsel that comes from the union of love.

How many of us are silent enough to listen to the other? When one is listening and another talking, people begin to understand each other; and then this can be reversed and the one listening can begin to talk. We don’t listen because we have no inner silence of mind or soul.

The Word, Jesus Christ, comes when peaceful silence encompasses everything, when the night is half spent. I may refuse to enter into the night of inner quiet, of non-resistance to the divine. If I do refuse, my life is doomed to remain parched and lifeless.

What is this silence that constantly prepares for the coming of the Lord? Silence can be understood in many ways. Silence can be experienced as the absence of noise. Silence may also mean the absence of words that are needless. The absence of useless talk, the softening of a voice that is shrill and strident. The cultivation of silence belongs to the gentle style of life. A style permeated with what we are and what we do. Love can make us capable of silence.

Today people are hungry for friendship, for understanding, for someone to talk to, someone who really listens. But who of us ordinary mortals can really listen with the ear of the heart wide open, taking in every word that the other says? The weight of listening is heavy. That is why we need to pray for a “spiritual bulldozer” to make straight the ways of the Lord in our hearts, so that he might come unencumbered and do the listening in our hearts. So that he might understand, console, help those who come to us!

He will do it through us if we reduce our interior noise to a gentle silence that listens to him. He will do it if we stop the swirling dust of our mutterings, our non-listening to our brother. He will come especially when we allow this spiritual bulldozer to really make straight the paths of our hearts for him to walk on unencumbered, so that he can listen through us, talk through us, understand through us.

Sometimes we speak anxious and tense words interiorly to ourselves, words that drive us toward moralistic self-perfection. These powerful, unspoken words can be more harmful than spoken ones, for they halt the one Word that wants to fill my life.

To reduce our noise, to become silent, is to enter his silence, and his silence speaks. There is no renowned spiritual master, from the East or the West, who did not praise the silence that leaves room for presence to the Presence: God himself.

— From Molchanie

The Advent Antiphons

Praising the Names of Jesus:  
The Antiphons of Advent 
by Jeanne Kun

It is especially in the final week of Advent that our attention is fixed on the messianic promises proclaimed by the ancient prophets of Israel.  A distinctive feature of the Liturgy of the Hours in this week preceding the Christmas vigil is the antiphon sung at Vespers (evening prayer) before and after the recitation of the Magnificat.  Originally incorporated into the monastic office in the Middle Ages, these antiphons, often called the "Greater Antiphons" or the "O Antiphons", are also echoed in the daily lectionary as the verse for the gospel acclamation during this week.  They add a mood of eager expectation to the liturgy that builds throughout these seven days and climaxes at Christmas.

The O Antiphons have been described as "a unique work of art and a special ornament of the pre-Christmas liturgy, filled with the Spirit of the Word of God".  They "create a poetry that fills the liturgy with its splendor", and their composer shows "a magnificent command of the Bible's wealth of motifs".  The antiphons are, in fact, a collage of Old Testament types of Christ.  Their predominant theme is messianic,  stressing the hope of the Savior's coming.  Jesus is invoked by various titles, mainly taken from the prophet Isaiah.  The sequence progresses historically, from the beginning, before creation, to the very gates of Bethlehem.

In their structure, each of the seven antiphons follows the same pattern, resembling a traditional liturgical prayer.  Each O Antiphon begins with an invocation of the expected Messiah, followed by praise of him under one of his particular titles.  Each ends with a petition for God's people, relevant to the title by which he is addressed, and the cry for him to "Come".

The seven titles attributed to Jesus in the antiphons are Wisdom (Sapientia in Latin), Ruler of the House of Israel (Adonai), Root of Jesse (Radix), Key of David (Clavis), Rising Dawn (Oriens), King of the Gentiles (Rex). and Emmanuel.  In Latin the initials of the titles make an acrostic which, when read backwards. means: "Tomorrow I will be there" ("Ero cras").  To the medieval mind this was clearly a reference to the approaching Christmas vigil.

Today the O Antiphons are most familiar to us in the hymn "O come, O come Emmanuel".  Each verse of the hymn parallels one of the antiphons. In addition to their use in the Liturgy of the Hours and the gospel acclamation, they have been popularly incorporated into church devotions and family prayer.  An Advent prayer service for use at home, in school, or in the events of parish life can be built around the singing or recitation of the antiphons, accompanied by the related Scripture readings and prayers.  They can be prayed at family dinner times or with the lighting of the Advent wreath, with a short explanation of their biblical background.   The titles can also be depicted by simple symbols - for example, on banners and posters or in bulletin illustrations - to help us to reflect on these Advent themes. 

(c) 2000 Jeanne Kun

God Became Man

by a Madonna House Staff Worker

We roam across the miles, across the pages of many books, seeking our identity. We strive and strain to leap over the prison walls of a limited concept of who we are. In the night we dream of performing fantastic and courageous feats. In our dreams we have our “moments of glory.”

And then comes the morning, and we take up the pursuit again. We follow the latest beat of the drum, hoping this or that will tell us who we really are. We feel sick and so we search for something, for someone to make us well, to heal us. From our depths we cry out for our other half. We yearn for our missing part. We are compelled to disprove the haunting thought that we are nobodies; therefore we do deeds that “make” us free, “make” us acceptable to ourselves.

Having sought and searched for our essences, we finally dare to speak our fears. “I am drowning in disappointment; my heart is sick; my spirit languishes; where is something, anything to measure the behaviour of my heart?”

Crushed and overwhelmed we fall to our knees inwardly. Silence engulfs us. Lo and behold, in that moment we can hear. We can hear the words of an angel piercing thru endless space and timelessness into the vacuum of our despair. “Do not be afraid. Listen. I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:10-13).

Listen, I bring you news of great joy. God has become a man! God has lowered himself. He has become what He created. God has communicated His incredible love. He has raised all men to God-like dignity. God has become man and walks among us as our Brother.

Jesus our Savior has brought us salvation. He has healed our deepest spiritual sickness. He has healed our distorted and damaged self-image. He has told us who we really are.

When Jesus appeared upon earth He showed us our true worth before God. He brought into the fullness of light our true identity. He reminded us that our intrinsic worth derives from the hand of our Creator, our Father who made us in His image and likeness. When Jesus was made flesh our darkened image was renewed, restored.

The Holy Spirit of love continues to reveal our identity and our destiny. He leads us to Love where we abide and where we find our identity. God is Love. It is in God that we find our true destiny, our true identity—to abide with Him forever.

God became man. Nothing was ever the same after that. God became man. The truth shall make us free. God became man. The truth shall bring us peace.

Once there was a reed, tall and proud, growing near a stream. He was a fine reed, and how he loved life! He lived every moment to the full. From his height he had a splendid view of the whole area. He watched the small animals scamper to and fro, the birds darting here and there, the multi-hued insects, the fish gliding in the stream. But best of all he liked the flowers. They came in a never ending parade of exquisite form and color. Old friends would go, but new ones promptly followed and they delighted him so that he never stopped to wonder what happened to the old. And all the while he stood, tall and green. Yes, life was good indeed.

Then one morning he awoke, and as he looked into the stream he discovered that his tip was turning brown. His dismay grew as day after ay the malady spread until his fine green coat was completely gone. In addition, he began to feel dry, then drier and drier. Then the rains came and beat at him, the winds battered him, and finally a mightly gust snapped him loose from the earth. He lay desolate on the ground, broken, bruised, and heavy-hearted.

Some days later, a young man came by and picked him up. He put him into his bag where it was dark, so dark that poor reed could see nothing at all. He longed for the end. Anything would be better than this unending darkness.

Finally the day came when the young man took him back out of the bag. How good to see the light again! He saw the fields and rolling hills, and sheep grazing peacefully around. The young man took a sharp knife and cut part of the reed away, hurting him so acutely he couldn’t help but cry out. Then the man ruthlessly pierced him through from end to end, clearing out his hollow. Every inch of his being quivered with pain. Then he was thrust back into the darkness again.

Sometime later he was taken out again. He welcomed the light, yet dreaded the pain he anticipated would come along with it. And sure enough, there was the knife. This time the young man mercilessly cut several holes in him. He wept silently. Then he was plunged once more into darkness.

The day came when reed, from his black home in the bag, sensed something different about everything; there was some excitement in the air. The young man joined some of the other shepherds and they hurried toward the edge of town. There they went into a cave, and the young man pulled reed out of the bag. Reed braced himself for the inevitable knife. Instead, to his surprise, he felt only the gentle caress of the young man’s hands as he lifted him tenderly to his lips. Then the young man poured his life-breath into him and there came forth from reed a beautiful song, simple and pure. And as reed looked out he saw a young mother and her little Baby. And they both smiled at him.

— Adapted from Coming Home