St. Francis Parish Magazine
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Advent 2013
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The Rector’s Report: 2013
I have yet to hear a sermon free of glimpses of the obvious.
Sometimes not even glimpses but good straight stares.
--Sydney Smith
After twenty years of Parish Annual Meetings I
feel not the slightest need to say anything new or creative or startling but
only, as Canon Sydney Smith said, to take a good straight stare at the obvious.
From the beginning or at least long before just
last year this parish has had what is now called fashionably ‘a mission
statement’. The problem with most mission statements is that they state
everything except the obvious:
“The [XYZ Nonprofit Organization] creates,
connects and collaborates to raise awareness and inspire change in the areas of
well-being, preserving cultures and empowering children in mind, body and
spirit. [XYZ Nonprofit Organization] designs forums, partners with existing
organizations and brings together experts to define solutions and implement
action”.
By contrast St. Francis’ ‘missionary statement’
states only the obvious:
1. To worship God.
2. To grow in holiness.
3. To share our faith with
others.
Just those three things and in that order. So how
are we doing?
Around here the Mass matters and the Mass is the
biggest and most important thing we do. We go to a lot of trouble to ‘do this’
as Jesus told us to do. I have not calculated exactly the portion of the budget
which is consumed with assuring that the Eucharist is celebrated, but given
that I am the most expensive part of the enterprise and figuring in bread and
wine, candles, vestments, incense, thuribles, chalices, music, utilities, and
all the rest, it is big portion of our expenditures. This is not even to take
into account time and talent.
However, you might not know this from Sunday and
Holy Day Mass attendance. It is not that comparatively we have poor attendance.
Compared to plenty of other Anglican/Episcopal parishes we do pretty well. Nor
is it simply a problem of the parish not growing. It is compared to ourselves
that we have poor attendance. We have about 190 members and that is the number
of people who should be at Mass on Sunday.
Much more importantly we should compare our
numbers with the stupendous mystery of Eucharist itself, “the source and summit
of the Church’s life”.
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of
the Christian life." "The other sacraments, and indeed all
ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the
Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained
the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch."
"The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and
sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People
of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of
God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to
Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit."
Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we
already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life,
when God will be all in all. In brief, the Eucharist is the
sum and summary of our faith” (The Catechism
of the Catholic Church).
If we really believe all that, then we will not
only be very careful about casually missing Mass, we will be passionate
about being present as often as
possible, when the Eucharistic Sacrifice is offered.
Spirituality is “in” these days. The Book Stores
are full of books about Spirituality. The superiority of ‘spirituality’ over
religion is the conclusion of a number of polls. Our Protestant friends have discovered
spirituality in a big time way. In my experience, however, you can easily dampen this enthusiasm by
reminding folks that the greatest help, indeed the most necessary thing in
Christian Spirituality is the Sacrament of Penance. Renewal Songs, Workshops on
Prayer, Psychology, Meditation, Small Group Discussion, everybody wants to sign
up for these. But mention Confession and the room empties pretty quickly.
There is quite frankly no better gauge of an
individual’s growth in holiness and a parish’s
spiritual health than the willingness to confess sins and receive absolution. This Sacrament is
the one thing that keeps us honest and realistic, makes us loveable and loving,
removes obstacles that stand between us and God and others, and draws us close
to the Cross and causes us to experience the Resurrection. Without Confession our
religion is barren and dry.
In the last twenty years I have steadily heard
fewer and fewer confessions each year. It might be that I am a poor confessor,
although’ Lord knows, it is not from wont of experience. Fortunately I am not
the only priest available here or elsewhere. No one can force you to go to
confession, not even your parish priest’s most clever rhetoric. The truth still
stands: the Sacrament of Penance is an indispensable sign and means of the
growth in holiness, to which we are committed around here.
It may say something to note that very few
people come to me and say ‘we have to do something about Sunday Mass
attendance” or “why aren’t more people making their confessions these days?”
What they do come and say is “we have to make St. Francis grow”.
More often than I say it, I think “why?” Do not
get me wrong: I want St. Francis to grow. I pray for growth in parish every
day. Every Tuesday I offer Mass for this in intention.
But why we need to grow is important. If it is a
matter of survival or prestige or anxiety, then it might well not happen. If,
on the other hand, it is because Jesus ordered us, as surely as he ordered us,
to ‘do this’ and ‘to repent’: to “go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, to the close of the age." That is entirely another
matter. We have our standing orders.
On top of that I do not want St. Francis to grow
because it is delightful little out of the way bistro, which deserves more
business. I want St. Francis to grow because this is a place, where the
undiluted truth is taught, where God is worshipped in the beauty of holiness
and in spirit and truth, where you are loved and can learn to love all the
more, where the good of the past is not forgotten but lived in the present,
where those holy things, family, community and friendship are not just clichés
but a living reality, where your faith, hope and love will be tried and
perfected at every turn.
Practically three things need to be said about
evangelization. First and most importantly the parish priest is not primarily
the person who does it; it is the work of lay folks. You can dress it up with
as many gimmicks, as you like, but it comes down to’ a friend inviting a
friend’. This means, for the most part, old folks will invite old folks, young
folks will invite young folks. So, if the problem is we do not have enough
young folks, then the answer is not ‘let’s have folk Masses and Rock Music’ but
rather the young folks will have to get busy. We old fogies will hold the
babies; you young folks go after your peers.
Secondly, if you say that you do not have any
friends to invite, as the oldies like to say, then pray and pray every day for
the growth of the parish. In fact the most important thing the parish as a
whole can do is to pray for the parish. Ask God to do what you cannot and ask
him to give the grace to do what you can. Ask Our Lady and St. Francis and any other friends you may have to pray for the
same.
Finally, an entirely unproved theory:
Anglo-Catholic parishes usually do not convert people; what they do is explain
to people what they ought to do with the rest of their life, once they are
converted. As the Church Growth wizards say, that is probably our
demographic.
We have got Jesus, we have got the forgiveness
of sins, we have the truth, we have more love than we know what to do with. My
bet is that there are other folks who would like in on all that.
That said, you all continue to amaze me. As the
old Canon of Mass has it: Remember, O
Lord, thy servants and handmaids and all who here around us stand, whose faith
is known unto thee and their steadfastness manifest. Your faith is known
and manifest. I am surrounded with ‘a great cloud of witnesses’ folks who are
willing to sacrifice, to give generously of their time and money, to fight the
good fight against sin, the world and the devil, to forgive seventy times seventy,
to love the unlovable, and to take up their cross and follow Jesus. I am
blessed beyond measure to be your parish priest and friend.
Fr. Allen
A Pagan View of the Church Year
D.H. Lawrence
The old Church knew that life is here our
portion, to be lived in fulfillment. The stern rule of Benedict, the wild flights
of Francis of Assisi, these were coruscations in the steady heaven of the
Church. The rhythm of life itself was preserved by the Church, hour by hour,
day by day, season by season, year by year, epoch by epoch, down among the people,
and the wild coruscations were accommodated to this permanent rhythm. We feel it,
in the south, in the country, when we hear the jangle of the bells at dawn, at
noon, at sunset, marking the hours with the sound of Mass or prayers. It is the
rhythm of the daily sun. We feel it in the festivals, the processions,
Christmas, the Three Kings, Easter, Pentecost, St. John's Day, All Saints', All
Souls'. This is the wheeling of the year, the movement of the sun through
solstice and equinox, the coming of the seasons, the going of the seasons. And it is the inward rhythm of man and woman, too, the
sadness of Lent, the delight of Easter, the wonder of Pentecost, the fires of
St. John, the candles on the graves of All Souls', the lit-up tree of Christmas, all representing
kindled rhythmic emotions in the souls of men and women. . .• Oh, what a catastrophe for man when he cut himself off from the
rhythm of the year, from his union with the sun and the earth. Oh, what a catastrophe,
what a maiming of love when it was a personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from
the rising and setting of the sun, and cut off from the magic connection of the
solstice and the equi-
nox! This is what is the matter with us.
nox! This is what is the matter with us.
A Christian View of the Church Year
Bede Griffths
Just as the Pagan who contemplated the course of
nature, the movement of the stars, the dying of the vegetation in the winter
and its rising again in the spring, strove to participate
in the divine mystery and to share in the divine life; so the Christian who contemplates the life of Christ, desires to share in that life, to die with him and to rise again to a new and immortal life. This is the mystery which underlies the sacred liturgy. It is a means by which the Christian may share in the life and death and resurrection of Christ.
in the divine mystery and to share in the divine life; so the Christian who contemplates the life of Christ, desires to share in that life, to die with him and to rise again to a new and immortal life. This is the mystery which underlies the sacred liturgy. It is a means by which the Christian may share in the life and death and resurrection of Christ.
Prayers to be Used with the Advent Wreath
First Week
Stir up thy power, O
Lord, and come, that by thy protection we may be rescued from the dangers that
beset us through our sins; and be a Redeemer to deliver us; Who livest and
reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God,
world without end.
Amen.
Second Week
Stir up our hearts, O
Lord, to prepare the paths of thine Only-begotten Son: that we may worthily
serve thee with hearts purified by His coming: Who livest and reignest with God
the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Third Week
We beseech thee to listen
to our prayers, O Lord, and by the grace of thy coming enlighten our darkened
minds: Thou who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the
Holy Ghost, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Fourth Week
Pour forth thy power,
O Lord, and come: Assist us by that mighty power, so that by thy grace and
merciful kindness we may swiftly receive the salvation that our sins impede:Who
livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God,
world without end. Amen.
Alma Redemptoris Mater
O loving Mother of our
Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea,
Hasten to aid thy fallen people who strive to rise once more.
Thou who brought forth thy holy Creator, all creation wond'ring,
Yet remainest ever Virgin, taking from Gabriel's lips
that joyful "Hail!": be merciful to us sinners.
Hasten to aid thy fallen people who strive to rise once more.
Thou who brought forth thy holy Creator, all creation wond'ring,
Yet remainest ever Virgin, taking from Gabriel's lips
that joyful "Hail!": be merciful to us sinners.
Up through the day before Christmas Eve:
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O
Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ,
Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and
cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection, through the same Christ our
Lord. Amen.
From Christmas Eve on:
V. Thou gavest birth without loss of thy virginity:
R. Intercede for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. Intercede for us, O holy Mother of God.
Let us pray. O God, Who by the fruitful
virginity of blessed Mary hast offered unto the human race the rewards of
eternal salvation, grant, we beseech thee, that we may know the effects of her
intercession, through whom we have deserved to receive the author of life, our
Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son. Amen.
Advent Readings
From a catechetical
instruction by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop
(Cat. 15, 1-3: PG 33, 870-874)
On the twofold coming of Christ
We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.
In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future.
At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels.
We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second we shall say it again; we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Saviour will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. At his own judgement he was silent; then he will address those who committed the outrages against him when they crucified him and will remind them: You did these things, and I was silent.
His first coming was to fulfil his plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his kingdom by necessity.
Malachi the prophet speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple: that is one coming.
Again he says of another coming: Look, the Lord almighty will come, and who will endure the day of his entry, or who will stand in his sight? Because he comes like a refiner's fire, a fuller's herb, and he will sit refining and cleansing.
These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus: The grace of God the Saviour has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly, and religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives thanks, and a second, the one we still await.
That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world, and the created world will be made new.
(Cat. 15, 1-3: PG 33, 870-874)
On the twofold coming of Christ
We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.
In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future.
At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels.
We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second we shall say it again; we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Saviour will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. At his own judgement he was silent; then he will address those who committed the outrages against him when they crucified him and will remind them: You did these things, and I was silent.
His first coming was to fulfil his plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his kingdom by necessity.
Malachi the prophet speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple: that is one coming.
Again he says of another coming: Look, the Lord almighty will come, and who will endure the day of his entry, or who will stand in his sight? Because he comes like a refiner's fire, a fuller's herb, and he will sit refining and cleansing.
These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus: The grace of God the Saviour has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly, and religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives thanks, and a second, the one we still await.
That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world, and the created world will be made new.
From a sermon by St
Gregory Nazianzen, bishop
(Oratio 45,9,22.26.28: PG 36, 634-635.654.658-659.662)
The marvel of the Incarnation
(Oratio 45,9,22.26.28: PG 36, 634-635.654.658-659.662)
The marvel of the Incarnation
The very Son of God, older than the ages, the
invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning,
the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the
archetype, the immovable seal, the perfect likeness, the definition and word of
the Father: he it is who comes to his own image and takes our nature for the
good of our nature, and unites himself to an intelligent soul for the good of
my soul, to purify like by like. He takes to himself all that is human, except
for sin. He was conceived by the Virgin Mary, who had been first prepared in
soul and body by the Spirit; his coming to birth had to be treated with honor,
virginity had to receive new honor. He comes forth as God, in the human nature
he has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit.
Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it.
He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the
poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full
is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share
in his fullness. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that
surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. He takes
on my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He
enters into a second union with us, a union far more wonderful than the first.
Holiness had to be brought to man by the
humanity assumed by one who was God, so that God might overcome the tyrant by
force and so deliver us and lead us back to himself through the mediation of
his Son. The Son arranged this for the honour of the Father, to whom the Son is
clearly obedient in all things.
The Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, came in search of the straying sheep to the mountains and hills on which you used to offer sacrifice. When he found it, he took it on the shoulders that bore the wood of the cross, and led it back to the life of heaven.
The Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, came in search of the straying sheep to the mountains and hills on which you used to offer sacrifice. When he found it, he took it on the shoulders that bore the wood of the cross, and led it back to the life of heaven.
Christ, the light of all lights, follows John,
the lamp that goes before him. The Word of God follows the voice in the
wilderness; the bridegroom follows the bridegroom's friend, who prepares a
worthy people for the Lord by cleansing them by water in preparation for the
Spirit.
We need God to take our flesh and die, that we
might live. We have died with him, that we may be purified. We have risen again
with him, because we have died with him. We have been glorified with him,
because we have risen again with him.
From a sermon by St
Bernard, abbot
(Sermo 5, In Adventu Domini,1-3: Opera Omnia, Edit. cisterc. 4 [1966], 188-190)
God's Word will come to us
(Sermo 5, In Adventu Domini,1-3: Opera Omnia, Edit. cisterc. 4 [1966], 188-190)
God's Word will come to us
We know that there are three comings of the
Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other
two are visible. In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men;
he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him. In the final coming all
flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on him whom
they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect
see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming
our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes
in spirit and in power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and
majesty.
In case someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer invention, listen to what our Lord himself ways: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. There is another passage of Scripture which reads: He who fears God will do good, but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.
In case someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer invention, listen to what our Lord himself ways: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. There is another passage of Scripture which reads: He who fears God will do good, but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.
Keep God’s word in this way. Let it enter into
your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of
life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Remember to
eat your bread, or your heart will wither away. Fill your soul with richness
and strength.
Because this coming lies between the other two,
it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the
first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in
this middle coming, he is our rest and consolation.
If you keep the word of God in this way, it will
also keep you. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great Prophet who
will build the new Jerusalem will come, the one who makes all things new. This
coming will fulfill what is written: As we have borne the likeness of the
earthly man, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as
Adam’s sin spread through all mankind and took hold of all, so Christ, who
created and redeemed all, will glorify all, once he takes possession of all.
From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Sermo 293,3: PI, 1328-1329)
(Sermo 293,3: PI, 1328-1329)
The Voice is John, the
Word is Christ
John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who
was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the
beginning Christ is the Word who lives for ever.
Take away the word, the meaning, and what is the
voice? Where there is no understanding, there is only a meaningless sound. The
voice without the word strikes the ear but does not build up the heart.
However, let us observe what happens when we
first seek to build up our hearts. When I think about what I am going to say,
the word or message is already in my heart. When I want to speak to you, I look
for a way to share with your heart what is already in mine.
In my search for a way to let this message reach
you, so that the word already in my heart may find a place also in yours,
I use my voice to speak to you. The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the
word to you and then passes away. The word which the sound has brought to you
is now in your heart, and yet it is still also in mine.
When the word has been conveyed to you, does not
the sound seem to say: The word ought to grow, and I should diminish?
The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word, and
has gone away, as though it were saying: My joy is complete. Let us hold
on to the word; we must not lose the word conceived inwardly in our hearts.
Do you need proof that the voice passes away but
the divine Word remains? Where is John's baptism today? It served its purpose,
and it went away. Now it is Christ's baptism that we celebrate. It is in Christ
that we all believe; we hope for salvation in him. This is the message the
voice cried out.
Because it is hard to distinguish word from
voice, even John himself was thought to be the Christ. The voice was thought to
be the word. But the voice acknowledged what is was, anxious not to give
offense to the word. I am not the Christ, he said, nor Elijah, nor
the prophet. And the question came: Who are you, then? He replied: I
am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness
is the
voice of one breaking the silence. Prepare the way for the Lord, he says, as
though he were saying: "I speak out in order to lead him into your hearts,
but he does not choose to come where I lead him unless you prepare the way for
him."
To prepare the way means to pray well; it
means thinking humbly of oneself. We should take our lesson from John the
Baptist. He is thought to be the Christ; he declares he is not what they think.
He does not take advantage of their mistake to further his own glory.
If he had said, "I am the Christ," you
can imagine how readily he would have been believed, since they believed he was
the Christ even before he spoke. But he did not say it; he acknowledged what he
was. He pointed out clearly who he was; he humbled himself.
He saw where his salvation lay. He understood
that he was a lamp, and his fear was that it might be blown out by the wind of
pride.
From a homily In Praise
of the Virgin Mother by Saint Bernard, abbot
(Hom. 4:8-9; Opera omnia, Edit Cisterc 4. [1966], 53-54)
The whole world awaits Mary's reply
You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.
The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.
Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.
Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the
(Hom. 4:8-9; Opera omnia, Edit Cisterc 4. [1966], 53-54)
The whole world awaits Mary's reply
You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.
The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.
Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.
Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the
eternal Word.
Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word.
Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word.
The ‘O’ Antiphons
The O Antiphons developed during the
Church's very first centuries. The writer Boethius (+525) mentions them. By the
8th century they were in use in Rome. There are seven of these special
antiphons, and their texts spring from the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures, the
Prophetic and Wisdom Books. They are found in the Liturgy of the Hours or older
Roman Breviary, which clerics, religious, consecrated virgins, and others use
for daily prayer.
The O Antiphons are short prayers sung before and after the Magnificat. The Magnificat is sung during Vespers, Evening prayer. The O Antiphons begin on 17 December, seven days before the Vigil of Christmas (24 December). The seventh and last antiphon is sung at Vespers on 23 December. They are called the "O Antiphons" because they all begin with the letter-word "O": they address Jesus by one of
The O Antiphons are short prayers sung before and after the Magnificat. The Magnificat is sung during Vespers, Evening prayer. The O Antiphons begin on 17 December, seven days before the Vigil of Christmas (24 December). The seventh and last antiphon is sung at Vespers on 23 December. They are called the "O Antiphons" because they all begin with the letter-word "O": they address Jesus by one of
His
Old Testament titles.
The Latin versions of each of the titles of the
Messiah are: Sapientia (Wisdom), Adonai (Lord), Radix (Root),
Clavis (Key), Oriens (Dawn), Rex (King), and Emmanuel
(Emmanuel). Take the first letters of each of the titles, starting with
the last and working back to the first. You spell: EROCRAS or "ero
cras... I will be (there) tomorrow".
The hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is simply a reworking of the seven O Antiphons. When you sing it, you are joining yourself to a vast throng of Christians stretching back across centuries and spanning the whole of the earth who prayed as all Christians do, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20) From Fr Z
The hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is simply a reworking of the seven O Antiphons. When you sing it, you are joining yourself to a vast throng of Christians stretching back across centuries and spanning the whole of the earth who prayed as all Christians do, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20) From Fr Z
O Wisdom, who
came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all
things mightily and sweetly: come, and teach us the way of prudence.
18 Dec. O Adonai
O Lord and
Ruler 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.
19 Dec. 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.
20 Dec. O Clavis David
O Key of David,
and scepter 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.
21 Dec. 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.
22 Dec. O Rex Gentium
O King of the
gentiles and their desired One, the cornerstone that makes both one: come, and
deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.
23 Dec. O Emmanuel
O Emmanuel, God
with us, our King and lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Savior: come
to save us, O Lord our God.
COME, LORD JESUS!
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