Merry Christmas

I send to all readers of this blog heartfelt wishes for a blessed and joyous Christmas! What we have heard for the past stretch of time bears repetition here: "All of the oracles of the prophets foretold him, the Virgin Mother longed for him with love beyond all telling, John the Baptist sang of his coming and proclaimed his presence when he came." I humbly pray that we all might be able to take some bit of that longing for Christ expressed in that prayer and allow it to transform our lives. As they say, a baby changes everything. Please also take a moment to enjoy the music below. It is Tomas Luis de Victoria's version of O Magnum Mysterium which was sung as the communion hymn last night at midnight mass at the cathedral. Once again; Merry Christmas!

 

Feed the World (Do They Know it's Christmastime?)

"Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel," which means "God with us." - St. Matthew 1:23

It is a startlingly simple verse. In St. Matthew's forthright proclamation, we see the entire economy of salvation in one sentence: God has come to dwell among us, his people. The sentiment is echoed elsewhere, in the Revelation to St. John: "And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God is with men: and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people: and God himself with them shall be their God" (Rev. 21:3). In both instances - in the first coming of Christ as an infant in a manger and the second coming of Christ as king at the end of time - we see God coming to us. This is the fundamental fact of Christianity: we seek God, and God seeks us.

But, upon further inspection, we see that the work of the Trinity has not confined God to the beginning of the first millennium and the end of days, God is constantly reaching out to us through the work of his Holy Spirit in the Church. Most obviously, His sacramental presence in the Eucharist turns both of these verses into statements of present fact rather than fulfilled and yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecy. Let us consider the Eucharistic dimensions of both circumstances.

In his birth at Bethlehem, Jesus reveals a number of things about his continued presence among his people. Firstly, Bethlehem is a place-name which means "House of Bread", which of course has obvious Eucharistic overtones. Furthermore, the manger must not be overlooked - it was a place where animals came to feed. Are we not animals to one another without the constant grace of God? And, even further, we must consider that Bethlehem was the city of David, the king. Christ is the new and eternal king, who reigns over the universe forever. David had wished to build a proper temple for sacrifice. God would not permit him for he had ruined his purity by waging war. God instead chose Mary, the pure virgin, to bring forth Christ the eternal temple, priest, and sacrifice - Emmanuel. Micah 5:1 proclaims something to this effect: "And you Bethlehem Ephrata, are a little one among the thousands of Juda, out of you shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity."

St. John in recording his visions in Revelation describes the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven as a bride prepared for her husband. The wedding feast of the lamb described in the surrounding chapters paints us a picture of perfect communion with the Lamb of God - a communion foreshadowed during each mass when we receive the Lamb of God in the sacrament.

God is not confined by time. By his very nature, God is eternal, and he acts in eternal ways. "Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today: and the same for ever," says the author of the letter to the Hebrews. God, when he came among us as a child in a manger is the same as the God who will establish his communion with us at the end of time in the eternal banquet of the Lamb. This is the same God, who by the power of his spirit, manifests himself in the Eucharist, at every mass, every day, around the world, "from the rising of the sun, even unto its setting."

The oracle of the prophet Isaiah, repeated by St. Matthew, is daily fulfilled: "The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and she shall name him Emmanuel, God is with us." The eternal manna daily comes down from heaven to feed the world, just as it did 2,011 years ago in Bethlehem, and just as it will in the untold future when Christ returns in glory. This year for Christmas, consider all of the blessings God has given us, and take special note of the blessing of the Eucharist - God with us.

Some Novenas

The Catholic Church has a deep history and profound heritage of formal prayer. One form of prayer that is particularly common is that of a novena, which is essentially a nine-day prayer. Quoth The Catholic Encyclopedia:

A nine days' private or public devotion in the Catholic Church to obtain special graces. The octave [eight days] has more of the festal character; to the novena belongs that of hopeful mourning, of yearning, of prayer. "The number nine in Holy Writ is indicative of suffering and grief" (St. Jerome, in Ezech., vii, 24; — P.L., XXV, 238, cf. XXV, 1473). The novena is permitted and even recommended by ecclesiastical authority, but still has no proper and fully set place in the liturgy of the Church. It has, however, more and more been prized and utilized by the faithful. Four kinds of novenas can be distinguished: novenas of mourning, of preparation, of prayer, and the indulgenced novenas, though this distinction is not exclusive.

We bring this to your attention, O Reader, for today, Nov. 30 traditionally begins two interesting novenas: that of St. Andrew, and that of the Immaculate Conception. Since the feast of Mary's Immaculate Conception is celebrated December 8th, many have begun the novena today, so that the ninth and final day of prayer corresponds with the feast day (a holy day of obligation, we must recall). The prayers of this novena can be found here.

The Christmas Novena of St. Andrew is of a slightly different nature. It is not a novena, per se, because it lasts longer than nine days. It begins today, the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, and ends on Christmas. The form of the novena is the recitation of the prayer below fifteen times each day:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

We understand that doing anything fifteen times a day seems like a lot to ask, but, we are positive there are many among us who check Facebook and Twitter much more than this per day. And, really, the prayer is no longer than your garden variety Hail Mary. Incorporating prayers such as these into our daily life can help us to conform our prayer to the mind of the Church and tune us in to the desires God has for us. Advent formerly had more of a penitential character, and in the Eastern Churches it is still observed as a time for fasting in anticipation of Christ's birth. Praying a novena - a regular, disciplined prayer - can be a bit of a small penance to help us on our way toward Christmas. And, any prayer whatsoever during this busy time of passing things can help to keep us grounded in eternal things.

So, we encourage all of you out there to copy and paste the Christmas Novena of St. Andrew (or any other prayer you like) to a little sticky note - or some similar application - and keep it on your desktop of your computer for the whole of Advent. If you are not technologically inclined, write it out on a real sticky note and put it on your real desktop in your room - somewhere you will see it. Rest assured, I will be keeping all of you in my intentions. Best wishes to you for a prayerful and joyous Advent!

Merry Christmas!

A Merry and Very Blessed Christmas to All! Just thought I'd share with you this treasure which opens every Midnight Mass each Christmas. From the Roman Martyrology:

The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord

* The twenty-fifth day of December.

* In the five thousand one hundred and ninety-ninth year of the creation of the world from the time when God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth;

* the two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seventh year after the flood;

* the two thousand and fifteenth year from the birth of Abraham;

* the one thousand five hundred and tenth year from Moses and the going forth of the people of Israel from Egypt;

* the one thousand and thirty-second year from David's being anointed king;

* in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel;

* in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad

* the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome;

* the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus;

* the whole world being at peace,

* in the sixth age of the world,

* Jesus Christ the eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and nine months having passed since his conception,

* was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary, being made flesh

* The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.

The Word of God became a man, and we have seen God's glory.

Blessings and the Joy of Christmas to All!

O Emmanuel

O EMMANUEL, rex et legifer noster, expectatio gentium et salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Dominus Deus noster.

O EMMANUEL (Isaiah 7:14), our king and lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22), hope and salvation of the peoples (Genesis 49:10; John 4:42): come to save us, O Lord our God (Isaiah 37:20).

Yesterday was the day of this, the last of the O Antiphons. An interesting fact about the seven antiphons is that if you arrange them backward from today you get: Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia. If you take the first letter of each of these words you get ero cras, which is a Latin phrase that means, "I will come tomorrow." Interesting how the work of God is often appreciated best in retrospect.

Anyways, it's Christmas Eve! Jesus comes tomorrow! I hope everyone has a very blessed, joyous, and pleasant Christmas. I shall leave you with this video, in lieu of a meditation. It is an excellent and witty piece of work, give it a watch:



Merry Christmas to all!

O Rex Gentium

O REX gentium et desideratus earum, lapis angularis qui facis utraque unum: veni et salva hominem quel de limo formasti.

O King of the nations (Jeremiah 10:7) and their desire (Haggai 2:7), cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16), who reunites Jews and pagans into one (Ephesians 2:14): come and save the man whom you formed from the earth (Genesis 2:7).

There are a number of points in yesterday's antiphon that jump out at me. Firstly, Jesus as King of the nations evokes the universality of Christ's message and mission. Since Christ died for all men, each person has the potential to call upon him as their Lord. All nations are equal in the eyes of the creator, for God shows no partiality. One of the aspects of the New Covenant was that is fulfilled God's relationship with humanity by broadening it from one nation, that of Israel, to all people, gathered together - his church. Indeed, the original Greek word for church, ecclesia, means "a gathering together." The story of all salvation history is written in God's Covenant with men, his desire to draw humanity into his love.

Indeed, this antiphon refers to the King of the nations as our desire. God desires us, and places within us the grace to desire him. That is the covenantal relationship that the Church has entered into through the person of Jesus Christ. He desires our salvation through himself, and thus becomes our cornerstone of faith, on which we build our relationship and struggle for ongoing sanctification.

We are not called to do this alone, though. God would not leave something as important as our salvation to our own struggles in darkness. He sent a light in the person of Jesus, who founded his Church as a sacrament of the unity between God and man in the New Covenant of his Body and Blood. The Church stands as the rule of God in our hearts on earth. It administers the love of Christ to all, seeking to fulfill our divine command to make disciples of all the nations, over whom Christ is already king.

The church, the New Israel, the calling together of all people to embrace God, is a visible and united sign of our potential for holiness. The Church is described in many figures of speech, but her primary mission can be summed up as these three: people of God, body of Christ, and temple of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity animates the mission of the Church. Firstly, we are a nation set apart: a holy people, a royal priesthood, and in this aspect we Christians are called to be ambassadors of Christ's great love for all of humanity. Secondly, with Christ we form his body, a united assembly of believers working to advance his mission on earth with the intercession of those already perfectly united to him in heaven. Lastly, as temple of the Holy Spirit, we rely on the continuing presence of God in the Church to guide our actions. We must cultivate our prayer lives and our sacramental lives in order to truly discern how the Spirit of God is calling us to act. But, like the Trinity itself, these three figures of the Church are distinct, yet mysteriously united.

Understanding the Church theological bases (ecclesiology) is tantamount to understanding Christ's desire for humanity. God created man to be united in love with him, man destroyed that relationship, so God has worked through Covenants to draw all men back to his tender, fatherly embrace. In the person of Jesus, God once and for all repaired our damaged relationship with Him, but calls us to take part together in that relationship through the ongoing ministry of Christ in his Church. Through this lens, we may begin to come to terms with the oft-repeated dictum of the Church Fathers: Extra ecclesiam nulla salus - outside the Church, there is no salvation.

If God desires us to be gathered together, in union with one another through the saving power of his son, the meaning of this statement can begin to be digested. It is a difficult saying in our modern time, and one I have not easily come to terms with, yet it remains true. The King of the nations is the only source of salvation, and God's salvation comes only through his Church, the New Ark of Noah, outside of which there is no salvation.

Obviously this is a nuanced topic that has been discussed thoroughly throughout the history of the Catholic Church. Look for a more detailed explanation of this position in the coming year.

Pictured is an icon of Christ the King from an altarpiece in Ghent, Belgium

O Oriens

O ORIENS, splendor lucis aeternae et sol iustitiae: veni et illumina sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.

O STAR who rises (Zechariah 3:8, Jeremiah 23:5), splendor of the eternal light (Wisdom 7:26) and sun of justice (Malachi 3:20): come and enlighten those who lie in darkness and the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:1, Luke 1:79).

One of our titles for Mary is Stella Maris or Star of the Sea. Our Blessed Mother, with the Savior in her womb, leads lost souls through darkness, just as a star can help a sailor travel dangerous waters. Advent is the season of Mary, of her joyful and hopeful expectancy. She is awaiting the birth of the guiding star, just as we await Him in our various periods of darkness.

The antiphon refers to Christ as more than a mere star, he is the star who rises and brings light to us like the sun. He rises and brings us with him, guiding us along on our earthly pilgrimage. His light rises in us when we follow his words. The splendor of the eternal light stands as a promise of God to his creation; that he has not abandoned us, and always seeks to lead us home. His love is as permanent as the stars above, and his justice and mercy are as pure and radiant as the light of the sun.

But, following a star requires endurance and commitment. The magi, in coming to pay homage to Jesus endured a journey far from what they were familiar with, yet they were committed to honoring the Lord. Mary and Joseph also offer an example when they sojourned to Egypt to protect their son. We can come to know Jesus through many means, but we should pray to remain strong in that relationship with him. We should pray and work to keep our sights fixed on Christ, the guiding star, whose rising is from the dead; which enlivens our hope for life here and beyond. The journey of faith is long and treacherous, it is not a one-time event. In our ever-developing quest towards conversion of heart and increased holiness, the star of Christ's grace can illumine our prayers and deeds and steer us toward the ultimate happiness in his love.

Our Lady, Star of the Sea, pray for us

O Clavis David

O CLAVIS DAVID et sceptrum domus Israel, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.

O KEY OF DAVID (Isaiah 22:23), scepter of the house of Israel (Genesis 49:10), who open and no one may shut; who shut and no one may open: come, free from prison captive man, who lies in darkness and the shadow of death (Psalm 107: 10, 14).

The key is an intriguing Messianic symbol. It presents Christ as the way that something is opened, a prophecy revealed by Isaiah. Likewise, the so-called power of the keys involves what is known in Biblical literature as "binding and loosing" - in the Old Testament, this had more literal meaning which took on a deeper meaning in the New Testament. Consider: "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my church, and the gates of the hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19.

Christ delegates his Messianic, Davidic power of the keys to his Apostles, and to Peter - their chief - in particular. This is to ensure that the power of binding and loosing in the sense of the forgiveness of sins, could be established in the world. This power remains with the Popes, whose chief symbol is two crossed keys, and the bishops who succeed the Apostles. They hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven while Christ is not with us - just as you might leave the keys to your house with a trusted friend if you were leaving town. Christ entrusted his closest followers with the stewardship of his church, to imitate him as Good Shepherd after his physical departure from the earth.

To understand more fully this power, the original prophecy of Isaiah must be taken in its context. Isaiah 22:23 reads, "I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open." These words were spoken about Eliakim, who was to become the steward of King of Israel. When we read these words in light of Jesus, we see striking parallels. Jesus was always prophesied to be of the house of David, and was to be the messiah who would restore the Kingdom of Israel. The New King is Jesus, the king of kings, who reigns forever in heaven, our true calling. The New Israel is the Church, the people of God set apart, journeying toward heaven. The new stewards are Peter, and his successors, the Popes, pointing to Jesus, the true key that opens wide our heavenly home by his sacrifice on the cross.

Of course, in order for any of us to truly follow and love the way God wants us to, we must first unlock our hearts and allow His love in. Jesus, who is the key to all of our souls, "stands at the door and knocks"(Revelation 3:20), calling us to allow him to open our hearts to his love. During this Christmas season, it is a good time to recommit to allowing him into our hearts, so that we too can take a part in the stewardship of his kingdom on earth. For we are all called to cultivate the love of God in our lives, which were given to us by God as gifts to use wisely.

I will end with this wonderfully appropriate quote from our dear Pope Benedict XVI:

"God...does not impose himself, he never uses force to enter, but asks, as a child does, to be welcomed. In a certain sense, God too presents himself in need of attention: he waits for us to open our hearts to him, to take care of him."

Pictured is St. Peter with the keys.

O Radix Iesse

O RADIX IESSE, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.

O ROOT OF JESSE, who stand as a sign for the peoples (Isaiah 11:10), the kings of the earth are silent before you (Isaiah 52:15) and the nations invoke you: come to free us, do not delay (Habakkuk 2:3).

This is a very interesting antiphon, as it brings together much symbolism and typology. The title comes from Isaiah 11:1, which reads, "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom." This prophecy is at the heart of the Messianic mission. The tree has much symbolism throughout the Judeo-Christian tradition. In the beginning, the tree was the source of sin entering the world through man's own action. With Jesus raised up on the tree of the cross, the remedy for that action, and all subsequent sin enters the world.

Perhaps Advent is the wrong time to reflect on the Passion, but the simple fact of the matter is that the Passion is memorialized and brought to us every time a mass is said. The Root of Jesse hangs upon a cross as a sign for all of the peoples of the earth, and his eternal saving sacrifice is made present each and every time a mass is said. Truly, at that time, the kings of the earth are silent before him, the King of Kings, in the humble appearances of bread and wine. "For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; and everywhere is offered a sacrifice to my name, a clean oblation; For my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts." - Malachi 1:11

Many gawk at the theology of transubstantiation. Bread and wine becomes God? Really? But this season of Advent can put that idea into context. God, the infinite, became a mere human child, born of a young virgin, in a stable, in a poor Roman backwater. The humility and that God exemplifies and calls us to is evident in both narratives - the Nativity and the mass.

God, present in the stable, on the cross, and during the mass, stands as a sign for all people. He is the new tree of life. He regenerates our souls, allowing them to blossom and show forth his love for all peoples. The fruit of sin in the Garden that led to the fall is replaced by Jesus, the bread come down from heaven, who spiritually empowers us in the Eucharist. This hope of salvation is open to all, from the rising of the sun to its setting, and it is given freely by a God who loves us and seeks only our love in return.

O Adonai

O ADONAI dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extenso.

O LORD (Exodus 6:2), leader of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2) and on Mount Sinai gave him the law (Exodus 20): come and free us with your powerful arm (Exodus 15:12-13).

The lordly aspect of Christ is an aspect oft-spoken of but much neglected. We love Christ the Savior, we are less sure about Christ the Lord. Lordship, in a generic sense, implies power and legal authority. Of course, Jesus fulfills these two qualifications in the most perfect manner. He is the supreme power, the primum mobile to the Medievals, which causes the Earth to live. On another level, he is the New Law, fulfilling the Old Covenant with Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Ten Commandments are now accented by the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus does not call us to an easy life. That is a simple fact of his Incarnation. We are sinners who need saving from sin, this is a difficult road. His commands are not easy, especially in our modern times, but we take up our crosses and seek to follow Him who will set us free, just as the Israelites followed Moses in the desert in search of the Promised Land.

God helps us along the way, and shows us how to follow in both word and sacrament. In the Old Testament, God appeared to Moses as a burning bush and the bush was not consumed, it merely provided a way for God to communicate with and show himself to man. In a similar way, we are called to follow and seek the glory of God so that we can show ourselves to the world as instruments of God's presence. 

And how can this seemingly impossible task be achieved? Certainly not of our own reaching and striving. God, reaching down, as he did on Mt. Sinai with the Law, gives us the grace to serve and follow his commands. He gives us this grace through His Church's sacraments, our good works, our following of the virtues, and our faith, all of which have their source in God, our very creator and sustainer. These graces allow us to be humble and accept the path that Jesus sets before us, sufferings and all. For, following the Lord involves imitating the Lord. God became man so that man can become like God.

O Sapientia

O SAPIENTIA, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia; veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiæ.


O WISDOM, who comes from the mouth of the Most High (Sirach 24:5), you extend to the ends of the earth, and order all things with power and sweetness (Wisdom 8:1): come and teach us the way of wisdom (Proverbs 9:6).

December 17th marks the final jaunt of the Advent season toward Christmas. The Church recognizes these seven days leading up to Christmas Eve in a special way. Each day is associated with one of the seven "O Antiphons" - short scriptural allusions to the coming of Christ. These are very ancient liturgical prayers of the Church that reach back to the Fifth Century. They are prayed during Vespers, the daily evening prayer of the Church.

The first of the O Antiphons is the invocation of God as Wisdom. Though I have alluded to this fact of the Incarnation elsewhere, I feel it bears much fruit in the context of our postmodern society. Christ, the Word of God made flesh (John 1), embodies and teaches the wisdom that guides us toward sanctification. Perhaps it is appropriate to echo the oft-repeated phrase of the Church Fathers, "God became man so that man can become like God."

God does this through the person of Jesus Christ, the very embodiment of his Wisdom. This is the scandal of Christianity. No other religion claims a divine savior. Each of the other major religions involve humanity reaching upward for God. Christianity is God reaching down to humanity. He offers us a way to Him through the Second Person of the Trinity - Jesus.

Coming to recognize Jesus present in the world involves both faith and the human faculty of reason, which both flow from God. Often, Christianity - Catholicism in particular - is criticized as being an illogical way of life that stunts reason and promotes superstition. I personally resent and object to this classification. Accepting the Church Christ founded involves both the heart and the head. As G.K. Chesterton once quipped, "Theology is simply the part of religion that involves brains."

God imparts us with the faculty of reason for a purpose. If we disregard the intellect, we truly do become superstitious Medievalists with a social agenda. But the Church has a vast intellectual patrimony that begs to differ with this characterization. Want some deep thought? Read some Augustine or Aquinas. Want emotional faith? Read John of the Cross or Teresa of Avila. Want nature? Read Francis of Assisi. These men and women were not unthinking Catholic drones. These were passionate, intellectual people with a zeal for living their lives to the fullest - with both heart and mind.

As the year draws toward a close, it is appropriate to be reminded of the wisdom of God, and how it can guide us toward charity, in the person of Jesus Christ, who offers salvation and a way of life befitting heaven. That, of course, is what Advent and Christmas are all about - the mystery of God made flesh in a stable in Bethlehem, and the mystery of God made flesh in the Eucharist and in others, each and every day all around the world.

Pictured is Thomas Aquinas, Saint and Doctor of the Church, holding his Summa Theologica; the most detailed and complete exposition of Catholic theology and the supreme intellectual work of the Middle Ages