The "J" word.

I know what you are saying.  What is the J word exactly?

Well, the J word is JESUS.

In this very short blog post, I am inviting you to use the J word more this year.  

I know that some of you are aware that we have begun Advent and that Advent is the beginning of the church's new year of grace, but remember, not everyone knows that.  Sometimes we Catholics, even with the best of intentions, make following Jesus a little more complicated than it needs to be.  We sometimes get ahead of ourselves when trying to make new followers of Jesus.  We presume that people know words like advent or liturgy or hierarchy, the list goes on and on.  Since many of us have grown up as Catholics, we use these words effortlessly.  But people who have not yet accepted Jesus or have not heard of his love need to hear the J word more from our lips.

So let this be your new year's resolution: use the J word more!

MUSIC NOTES FOR DECEMBER 18

       This is the rare year in which an entire week falls between the last Sunday of Advent and Christmas. With this gift of time, we can celebrate the seven verses of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”  These verses are in fact the antiphons of the Magnificat which are sung by religious communities at evensong on each of the seven nights before Christmas Eve. Each one uses an image from the prophecies of Isaiah or Micah. They pose a mandala for meditation: how is God with us?  David wanted to build a house for God, whose presence is limitless and yet who came to house in Mary’s body. Such is the unfolding mystery expounded by Paul to the Romans, and expanded in the songs “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Breath of Heaven.” The Renaissance hymn “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” refers to another image from Isaiah (35: 1).

       I first heard the hymn “Gabriel’s Message” in a multi-track recording by Sting in the first A Very Special Christmas album (with the gold-stamped figure by Keith Haring). He sang the Basque melody (from southeast Spain) in a classic arrangement by Sir David Willcocks which is often sung during the service of Lessons and Carols during Advent. Today’s responsorial Psalm 89, with its references to David and the Messiah, is also appointed to be sung on Christmas Eve.

O Emmanuel - Vespers Antiphon 23 December

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the long awaited hope of the nations, Savior of all people; O come, our Lord and God, set free the people whom you love.

BIBLICAL SOURCE:
Isaiah 7:14

O King - Vespers Antiphon 22 December

O King of all nations, the desired One of their hearts, the cornerstone that joins in one the peoples sin had kept apart. O come, and save man whom you formed from earth and dust.

BIBLICAL SOURCES:
Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah 2:4
Isaiah 28:16

O Daystar - Vespers Antiphon 21 December

note - this antiphon is sung
on the "darkest" day of the year
in the Northern Hemisphere.

O Daystar, (O Oriens) splendor of eternal light and Sun of Justice, O come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.


BIBLICAL SOURCES:
Isaiah 9:2
Isaiah 60:1-2
Malachi 4:2
Micah 3:20

O Key of David - Vespers Antiphon 20 December

O Key of David and Power of the house of Israel, what you unlock, no man can close, for you alone can bind fast. Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

BIBLICAL SOURCES:
Isaiah 22:22
Isaiah 9:7
Isaiah 42:7

O Root of Jesse - Vespers Antiphon 19 December

O Root of Jesse, sign of peace, before whom all nations stand in awe: kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. O come, and set us free; delay no longer in your love.

BIBLICAL SOURCES:
Isaiah 11:1
Isaiah 11:10
Micah 5:2
Isaiah 45:14
Isaiah 52:15

O Lord - - Vespers Antiphon 18 December

O Lord and Giver of the Law on Sinai, the Leader of your chosen people Israel, appearing in the burning bush, revealed to Moses face to face, O come, stretch out your mighty arms to set us free.

BIBLICAL SOURCES:
Isaiah 11:45
Isaiah 33:32
Exodus 3:2
Exodus 24:12

O Wisdom - Vespers Antiphon 17 December

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God's mouth, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come, and teach us all the ways that lead to life.

BIBLICAL SOURCES:
Isaiah 11:2-3
Isaiah 28:29
Sirach 24:3
Wisdom 8:1

The O Antiphons - an introduction

Today we begin our Advent reflections on the "O Antiphons" or "Great Antiphons."  These are the beautiful, biblically-based acclamations that cry out for the coming of the Messiah in late Advent. 

Catholics sing one of the "O Antiphons" at Evening Prayer (Vespers) from the 17th of December through the 23rd. Keeping this tradition in the digital age, we will post the O Antiphon for each of these days to help you pray for the coming of Christ and join us in this ancient Catholic tradition.  The Antiphon in English, its main Biblical sources, and a video of the Latin chant comprise each blog post.

Today we simply provide the historical background on the Antiphons.

The exact origin of the "O Antiphons" is not known. Boethius (480–524/5) made a slight reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence at that time.

At the Benedictine Saint Benedict Abbey of Fleury (now Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire), these antiphons were recited by the abbot and other abbey leaders in descending rank, and then a gift was given to each member of the community.

By the eighth century, they were in use in the liturgical celebrations in Rome. The usage of the "O Antiphons" was so prevalent in monasteries that the phrases "Keep your O" and "The Great O Antiphons" were common parlance. One may thereby conclude that in some fashion the "O Antiphons" have been part of Western liturgical tradition since the very early Church.

The Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one—Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia—the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, "Tomorrow, I will come". Therefore Jesus, whose coming Christians have prepared for in Advent and whom they have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to them: "Tomorrow, I will come." So the "O Antiphons" not only bring intensity to their Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.

 - Wikipedia, Saunders, William, What are the "O Antiphons"?, CatholicEducation.org, retrieved 30 November 2009.

ADVENT 101 - Preparing for the Birth of our Savior

MUSIC NOTES FOR NOVEMBER 20

       The feast of Christ the King is the climax of the church year, but also a bridge to Advent. The image of the shepherd-king will appear in next week’s Psalm 80, which we also sang on October 2, invoked by a people in exile whose vineyard has been destroyed. (Recall that today’s 23^rd Psalm was also our response on October 9.)  We all long for leaders who will shepherd us, leading by example and healing what is not whole. The key, as we have heard for the last three weeks, is to be alert for the return of the King, for he lives and moves among us even now. The sheep have recognized the person of Christ in those dispossessed; the goats have not. As we have seen these last weeks, walls must fall to bring about the kingdom. St. Paul lays out the scenario: Christ is raised first, then those who are faithful to him; and then every earthly concept of nationality and government will crumble. Finally, when death is destroyed, God will be all in all.

      The promise of the resurrection is well-conveyed in the hymn “We Will Rise Again,” with verses drawn from Isaiah.  Resurrection is also the theme of “Soon and Very Soon.” Our communion processional again this week will be “When We Eat This Bread”, this time with verses from “Shepherd Me, O God.” The African hymn “Jesu, Jesu,” which we also sing on Holy Thursday, reminds us where we find Christ. “You Are My All In All” expands on the concluding thought of our epistle. The closing hymn at the organ Masses, “The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns” is set to the early American hymn tune Morning Song and is a meditation on the King of kings whom we worship both in the fullness of time and in Bethlehem. At 10:00 we go out to a medley of spirituals, “Ride On, King Jesus” and “In That Great Gettin’-Up Morning.”