The Great 'O' Antiphons: O Radix Jesse - December 19th - Independent Catholic News

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Jesse Tree - Lambeth Psalter 1140s

The Great 'O' Antiphons: O Radix Jesse - December 19th

By: Fr Robin Gibbons

Posted: Friday, December 19, 2014 12:23 am

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The Great 'O' Antiphons: O Radix Jesse - December 19th - Independent Catholic News   

Jesse Tree - Lambeth Psalter 1140s O Radix Jesse  December 19th O root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples: before you Kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer. Our medieval Christian craftsmen and artists created wonderful Jesse trees, the sleeping Jesse at the base with a tree growing out of his loins and on each branch those ancestors of Christ opening out like leaves until we reach the final flowering of Mary with her child Jesus. Some Jesse trees can be found in manuscripts but there still remain wonderful examples in stained glass and wood and stone carving. Canterbury Cathedral has one fragment of a panel dating from 1150.  In Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire, there is a wonderful north window which combines carved stone images with remaining fragments of medieval glass. In St Mary’s priory, Abergavenny, a most beautiful wooden 15thc Jesse figure is all that remains of the tree! The Gospel genealogies of Jesus trace his descent from Jesse the father of David. This is to show the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy, that the Messiah came from David’s royal house and lineage and would be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5.2). The ancient world was fascinated by the genealogy of Kings, because a direct and confirmed lineage proved their right to rule. It’s no wonder that dynastic battles were fought over legitimacy rights, for any suggestion that the person claiming the throne was illegitimate usually meant conflict! Today we are not so fixed on these claims as our ancestors were, for Christians a new and universal family is constituted, where all are one in Christ (Gal 3.28.) Nevertheless this antiphon acts as a catalyst to help us find our ancestry as children of creation. In two quotes from Isaiah an image of strong roots and strong growth helps us understand how we too are part of the tree of Jesse. The prophet talks about the shoot that shall come from the stock of Jesse, from which a branch will grow full of fruit ( Is 11.1) On that day when the earth will be ‘filled with the knowledge of the lord as the waters cover the sea’, ‘the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for all the peoples, the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious’(Is 11.9,10). Because we are grafted on to Christ, our task is to continually bear good fruit, Jesus uses this type of metaphor for good works and acts, but we have also something more poignant to consider. This root image links us to creation, to the ‘stardust’ which forms the heart of matter and life. O Radix Jesse challenges us to care, with loving concern, for all life’s growth and do everything we can to prevent harm to living creatures and our planet.

Notre-Dame de l'Atlas ou la joie retrouvée

Aged 92 years, the last survivor of Thibhirine, Father Jean-Pierre Schumacher shows his joy found.

Our Lady of the Atlas - the joy found

 

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Published on December 8, 2014

Following the events of Thibhirine, Algeria, where seven Cistercian monks were murdered, the martyrs of the community of Our Lady of Atlas moved in 2000 to Midelt in the Moroccan Atlas. The program of the daily life of six Cistercian monks, "be praying among the praying" in harmony with the local Muslim population. Aged 92 years, the last survivor of Thibhirine, Father Jean-Pierre Schumacher shows his joy found. A co KTO / The eight productions, 2014. Directed by Lizette Lemoine and Aubin Hellot. 
Documentary 08/12/2014.

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COMMENTS:

Roberta Westerberg

2 days ago

The history of the monks of Tiber has a very important place in my life as a Benedictine oblate. Thank you for the video. The monks live in our hearts and pray that the Christians and musalmans finished with the war and was found peace.  

Thierry Boyer via Google+

1 week ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3j6NsO9rcj4
Always present in the image of God

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Pedro JOSE DE MENEZES

5 days ago

Thank you for the video. Very beautiful.

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The Great 'O' Antiphons: 18th December - O Adonai - Independent Catholic News

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The Great 'O' Antiphons: 18th December - O Adonai

By: Fr Robin Gibbons

Posted: Thursday, December 18, 2014 12:33 am

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St Isaac's Cathedral, St Petersburg

The Great 'O' Antiphons: 18th December - O Adonai - Independent Catholic News 

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with outstretched arm. (Common Worship trans) Adonai is the Hebrew word meaning ‘My Lord’ used by Jews as a substitution for the holy name of God which a cannot be spoken, and so is a reminder of the heritage the Christian community receives from the people of Israel, the first to hear the promise of the future Messiah. This antiphon is the most Jewish of them all, we too pray the ancient name of my Lord,used by the oppressed children of Israel. Here too is the story of Moses meeting God on Mt Sinai and receiving the Torah, the story of Israel’s oppression and exile but also deliverance from Pharaoh in Egypt and ‘Passover’ into the promised land! This is the Exodus story of our faith as well, a deep reminder of our intimate connection not only with the Hebrew Scriptures, but of the deep Jewish roots of Christian faith. In the poetry of the antiphon we not only hear the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the God of redemption, who was revealed to Moses in the burning bush ( Is 3.2) but who continually reaches out to us with outstretched arm, dispensing justice and righteousness, particularly to the poor who are God’s special ones , but who will also bring the wicked to accountability ( Is 6.6; 11.4-5.).A Isaiah says, ‘the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our King, he will save us’.(Is 33.22) Here too we glimpse the outstretched arms of a suffering servant , the saviour of the world who redeemed us by the wood of the Cross! Today we are brutally reminded of new atrocities perpetrated in the name of God by wicked people, innocent children and adults caught up in terrorism and murderous violence. As we call on the Lord, O Adonai, our prayer is caught up in the centuries of prayer offered by innocent and suffering people, from Exodus to the Pogroms, from religious wars of the Reformation, to the more recent Concentration Camps and Gulags all over the world , and of today's violence! We must reclaim the name of God from misuse, from abuse by evil people, that perhaps is our deep unspoken prayer of O Adonai this day!

Feast of the Church: The Great O Antiphons:"O Adonai", Gospel Mt 1:18-24

William - Fw: The honour due to Our Lady (St Bernard)

Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)  
Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk |

domdonald.org.uk 

On Thursday, 18 December 2014, 19:30, William ... wrote:

Dear Father Donald,

Just to share such a stunning interpretation in the DGO commentary on today's Gospel!

In honour of Our Lady,

William

Commentary of the day :

Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church Homilies on the « Missus est » no. 2, 13-15 (trans. St Mary’s Community, York)

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home"

“Joseph, her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly" (Mt 1,19). Truly, because he was just, he would not expose her to shame; for as he would not have been just had he countenanced one that was guilty, neither would he have been just if he had condemned one whose innocence had been proved. Since, then, he was just and unwilling to expose her, why had he a mind to divorce her? I give you on this point not my own opinion, but that of the Fathers: Joseph's reason was the same as Peter's when he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord," (Lk 5,8) and that of the centurion when he exclaimed, “I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof" (Mt 8,8).

Joseph looked on himself as a sinner and as unworthy to entertain one in whom he beheld a superhuman dignity. He beheld with awe in the Virgin-Mother a certain sign of the Divine Presence, and as he could not penetrate the mystery, he wished to divorce her. Saint Peter was struck with awe at the greatness of Christ's power; the centurion by the majesty of Christ’s presence; and Joseph was naturally afraid at the novelty and splendour of the miracle and the depth of the mystery. We need not wonder that Joseph thought himself unworthy of the society of such a Virgin when we hear Saint Elizabeth exclaim with fear and trembling: “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1,43)… 
But why divorce her secretly? So that people might not seek out the reason for their separation or come to demand an explanation. What could this just man have replied to… people always ready to dispute? If he had concealed his thoughts, if he had asserted his fiancée’s purity, those sceptics would have mocked him and stoned Mary… So Joseph, who wanted neither to lie nor to blame, acted rightly… But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid! What is born of her comes from the Holy Spirit.” 

O Antiphons of Advent: December 18th: O Adonai (Is. 11:4-5; 33:22)

The Great "O" Antiphons of Advent
	These last appeals to God seem to read as if the iron of our misery is in our very blood.

O Antiphons of Advent

The Great "O" Antiphons of Advent http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/801/O_Antiphons_of_Advent.html Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio In the Church's Liturgy of the Hours, Evening Prayer, also know asVespers, always includes the great prayer of Mary known as theMagnificat.   Each day, the Magnificat is preceded by a short verse or "antiphon" that links the prayer to the feast of the day or the season of the year.  In the last seven days of Advent (December 17-24), the antiphons before the Magnificat are very special.  Each begins with the exclamation "O" and ends with a plea for the Messiah to come. As Christmas approaches the cry becomes increasingly urgent. These moving "O Antiphons" were apparently composed in the seventh or eighth century when monks put together texts from the Old Testament, particularly from the prophet Isaiah, which looked forward to the coming of our salvation. They form a rich, interlocking mosaic of scriptural images. The great "O Antiphons"  became very popular in the Middle Ages when it became traditional to ring the great bells of the church each evening as they were being sung. Each of the O Antiphons highlights a different title for the Messiah: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel.  Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. A particularly fascinating feature of the O Antiphons is that the first letter of each invocation, when read backwards, forms an acrostic in Latin: the first letters of Sapientia,Adonai, Radix, Clavis, Oriens, Rex, and Emmanuel in reverse form the Latin words: ERO CRAS.  These can be understood as the words of Christ, responding to his people's plea, saying  "Tomorrow I will be there." Saying the O Antiphons as a family, whether during grace at meals, in front of the manger scene, or in front of the Christmas tree, is a wonderful Advent devotion.  To make this devotion even more fruitful, read and meditate together on the Scripture texts on which the antiphons are based. December 17th: O Sapientia (Is. 11:2-3; 28:29): "O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High. You fill the universe and hold all things together in a strong yet gentle manner. O come to teach us the way of truth." December 18th: O Adonai (Is. 11:4-5; 33:22): "O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power." December 19th: O Radix Jesse (Is. 11:1, 10): "O stock of Jesse, you stand as a signal for the nations; kings fall silent before you whom the peoples acclaim. O come to deliver us, and do not delay." December 20th: O Clavis David (Is. 9:6; 22:22): "O key of David and scepter of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close no one can open. O come to lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." December 21st: O Oriens (Is. 9:1): "O Rising Sun, you are the splendor of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." December 22nd: O Rex Gentium (Is. 2:4; 9:5): "O King whom all the peoples desire, you are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come and save man whom you made from clay." December 23rd: O Emmanuel (Is. 7:14) : "O Emmanuel, you are our king and judge, the One whom the peoples await and their Savior. O come and save us, Lord, our God."

O Antiphons of Advent: O Emmanuel

 

Fr. Paul Nicholson

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Dom Donald's Blog: The 12 Days of Christmas

Dom Donald's Blog: The 12 Days of Christmas: Christmas: December 27th Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist   December 27, Feast of Saint John St. John was born in Bethsaida,...  

The Great "O" Antiphons of Advent

The Great "O" Antiphons of Advent
	These last appeals to God seem to read as if the iron of our misery is in our very blood.

The Great “O” Antiphons of Advent   William J. McGarry S.J.  From December 17 to 23 the liturgy has seven antiphons which begin with O and are addressed before and after the Magnificat to the Lord King of the Advent….In their magnificent yet simple beauty the Great O’s are the quintessence of the Advent liturgy. Their language bears the weight of God’s eternity and mercy. They are a poignant cry of the soul of the people of Advent; they address God by the most compelling and tender of divine names, and they always end with an intense COME, VENI. All have the same structure, the O of apostrophe, and imperative of appeal. And while the imperatives of the season are often joyous and clamorous, these last appeals to God seem to read as if the iron of our misery is in our very blood. For though even in other parts of the liturgy of the last week our optimism continues and our hope is bright, in the solemn ceremonial of the evening Magnificat we are soberly acknowledging that our dire wretchedness can be remedied only by omnipotent mercifulness.Only one of the Great O’s is read each day of our approach to Christmas. The effect of this is noticeable, for we definitely feel a growing intensity as each evening passes. We seem to be making a forward step and to be covering infinite distances from eternity to Bethlehem. There is a climatic order in these antiphons. In the first, O Sapientia, we take a backward flight into the recesses of eternity to address Wisdom, the Word of God. In the second, O Adonai, we have leaped from eternity to the time of Moses and the Law of Moses (about 1400 B.C.). In the third, O Radix Jesse, we have come to the time when God was preparing the line of David (about 1100 B.C.). In the fourth, O Clavis David, we have come to the year 1000. In the fifth, O Oriens we see that the line of David is elevated so that the peoples may look on a rising star in the east, and hence in the sixth, O Rex Gentium, we know that He is king of all the world of man. This brings us to the evening before the vigil, and before coming to the town limits of Bethlehem, we salute Him with the last Great O, O Emmanuel, God-with-us. We have traveled a long distance and have waited long, but at Bethlehem we are to find the Little One who is Emmanuel, God of God and Light of Light, and yet God with us.”

From He Cometh (2011)

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Marcellino D’Ambrosio

These moving ”O Antiphons” were apparently composed in the seventh or eighth century when monks put together texts from the Old Testament, particularly from the prophet Isaiah, which looked forward to the coming of our salvation. They form a rich, interlocking mosaic of scriptural images. The great “O Antiphons” became very popular in the Middle Ages when it became traditional to ring the great bells of the church each evening as they were being sung….

In Latin: the first letters of Sapientia, Adonai, Radix, Clavis, Oriens, Rex, andEmmanuel in reverse form the Latin words: ERO CRAS.  These can be understood as the words of Christ, responding to his people’s plea, saying  “Tomorrow I will be there.”

From The Crossroads Initiative (2014)

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The Great "O" Antiphons of Advent
	These last appeals to God seem to read as if the iron of our misery is in our very blood.

O Antiphons of Advent: O Emmanuel

 

Fr. Paul Nicholson

1,153

  

Published on 23 Dec 2013

http://www.fatherpaulnicholson.com/in...

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