The "O" Antiphons

O Day-Spring, Brightness of the Light Everlasting, and Sun of Righteousness, come and enlighten him that sitteth in darkness and in the shadow of death. [Luke 1:78.79; Malachi 4:2]

Once again, I am humbled by the beauty of an ancient Church tradition just discovered by yours truly for the very first time.  This tradition: The "O" Antiphons!

The Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eight century.  They are part of Evening Prayer for December 17-23.  They use ancient Biblical imagery drawn from the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of old Messianic hopes, but present ones as well.  They embody the longing of all for the Divine Messiah. [usccb.org]

The word antiphon means a psalm, anthem or verse sung responsively.  Or, it is a verse that accompanies a canticle or psalm during the liturgy. (www.merriam-webster.com)

 Here, again, is today's antiphon in another version:

O Radiant Dawn,
Splendor of eternal light,
Sun of justice, 
Come and shine on those who dwell in darkness 
and in the shadow of death.

Living in a Fallen World

The following is an excerpt of a letter I received recently from my elderly prayer partner. She has been virtually blind for more than 30 years and now is almost entirely lame due to osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Nonetheless, she shines with the joy of the Lord, provides much wisdom and offers many prayers on behalf of me and my family.  

We need strong men to complete our spirituality as a Christian community.  The married couples with children are the image of the Holy Family in the world.  It's important to strengthen that image because everything in our modern institutions conspire to eradicate it.  

 When I was in school, I was downcast about something which I no longer remember but it might've been the death of a young man in the neighborhood who was an excellent swimmer.  As a child, he had polio but had made a good recovery.  He wasn't a close friend, but everyone liked him, and he spent a great deal of time outdoors.  I told my mother that it wasn't fair.  Her answer has stayed with me my entire life: "People lose their children, and children lose their parents every day.  Do you think that God loves them less?  The ways of God are unfathomable, we are too small to understand Him.  We know that we live in a fallen world which He has saved, but it's up to us to make it better because not everyone accepts the sacrifice of His Son.  Pray the 91st Psalm every day, visit the Blessed Sacrament often and keep an attitude of a prayerful interior.  It will serve you and the world well."  

Understanding the Trinity

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.   Genesis 1:27

There are three parts of me:  

1. My  physical body
2. My spiritual soul
3. My emotional spirit 

There are three parts of God:
1.  The physical Jesus
2.  The spiritual God the Father
3.  The comforting Holy Spirit

I can connect with God daily by:
1.  Physically uniting with Jesus through Communion, and through Adoration
2.  Praying to God the Father from my soul
3.  Listening for the still, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit within me.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Miracle Takes Place within a Clay Jar

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. [2 Corinthins 4:7]

Jesus chose a wedding as the place for his first public miracle.  He had shown himself capable of such wonders, or Mary wouldn't have directed the servants to "do whatever he tells you."

Think about this first miracle:

~ He directs human beings pour water into earthen vessels.
~ He changes the water within the jars into wine. 
~ The miracle wine gets poured out, from the jars, for the guests to drink.
~ The miracle wine is of the finest quality.

Now think about this miracle, as experienced in Holy Communion:

~ He has human beings pour wine into our earthen vessels.
~ He changes the wine within us into His blood.
~ His blood gets "poured out" to those around us through acts of love and service.
~ These acts of love and service are of a rare quality that cause one to note their origin.

We may be the only Bible that some people ever read.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. [2 Corinthins 4:7]

An Hearty Desire to Pray

"O lord, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us: and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may by thy mighty aid be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities,  through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Does not this embody the mother's prayer while "on the night watch?"  The dangers and adversities, lurking about the lives of her beloved children, must be kept at bay.  She is given "an hearty desire to pray," beseeching the Lord to show Himself strong on behalf of her loved ones.

The Slow Work of God

Have you been going through a hard time, for a long time?  Trust in the slow work of God.

Prayer of Teilhard de Chardin

 

Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.

Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.


—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. [Isaiah 55:9]

Spiritual Direction

It has been three years since I first heard the term "spiritual director," when a friend mentioned a priest who had provided spiritual direction for her.  Hmmm, interesting thought.

Yesterday, I met with someone who is offering to be my spiritual director.  She is a nun, the director of a local retreat and spirituality center.  "What is spiritual direction?" I asked her.

Here is a sketch of what she said:

~Spiritual direction is an ancient practice that has experienced revival in recent years.  In Western Christianity, there is a renewed interest in the contemplative approach to one's faith.

~It is an opportunity for me to meet and share with a trained person how I am experiencing God.  I set the agenda.   The training part is important, as one who is not trained can cause great damage to the those seeking spiritual direction. 

~There is a charism element for one to be a good spiritual director - he/she has to be gifted for it, trained and confirmed by people who know what it is about.

~It is not counseling, although sometimes these areas overlap.  It is not confession, although sometimes things are discussed that one may want to take to confession.

~The spiritual director is bound by confidentiality.  I am not.  She will be primarily listening to me and to God.  She is available for God to work through her and me.  She is just another "poor sinner" on life's path, coming alongside of me.

~Her philosophy:  God can be found in every human experience, primarily in the affections.  Bring my reality.  What is going on in my life?  Where is God in this?  How am I experiencing God in this? 

~She leans towards the contemplative, entering into the reality of what our life is at any given moment.  How is God inviting me to be in that moment?  How will I respond?  What is my human reality right now?

~In one of the initial sessions we would talk about prayer. 

~The meetings last about an hour.  Meeting once per month is suggested initially, eventually expanding to once every six weeks.  There is a suggested donation of $25 - $50, depending on one's budget.  However, she would never allow finances to prohibit someone from receiving spiritual direction.

At the end, she said, the only true spiritual director is God and the Holy Spirit.

 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.   And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.    [Isaiah 30:20,21]