Keep Your O!

Today, and for the next week, let us celebrate the "O Antiphons"  Read a little on the subject, then each night, simply recite the "O Antiphon" O' the Day!  Here they are:

December 17th: O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.”

December 18th: O Adonai: “O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.”

December 19th: O Radix Jesse: “O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.”

December 20th:  O Clavis David: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.” 

December 21st:  O Oriens: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.”

December 22nd:  O Rex Gentium: “O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.”

December 23rd:  O Emmanuel: “O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.”

Here's a fun fact that the article linked below describes: "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.”

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0374.html

Two Sacraments and a Dance

I don't blog about work too often, but today is one of those interesting combinations of events that makes me appreciate just how diverse this existence of ours really is... I work at a Catholic Church, and today we are hosting an Advent Mass with the Anointing of the Sick. Following that, I will join my Associate Pastor as he presides over a funeral. And later this evening, "DJ Jazzy Greg" spins the hard drive at a local school dance.

 So it's a Mass offering hope to those who are sick, and in need of God's healing touch; a funeral celebrating a long and happy life with an eternity of grace to follow; and a middle school dance to blow off a little steam before mid-terms! Hope, eternal grace, and a dance party...

This weekend is the Third Sunday of Advent ("Gaudete"), and what I always refer to as "Think Pink Sunday"! It's a weekend of Joy, knowing that the Christ who is to come will truly save us! Have hope, and may an eternity of grace flood your existence, and give you the energy to truly "dance the night away!" (cf. Isaiah 9:2 - "A people who walked in darkness have seen a great light!")

Make Straight the Path

St. John the Baptist

Advent 2011: Make Straight the Path

It's always been a mathematical truth that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  If Advent is a journey, the it's fair to assume that this journey has a starting and an end point.  The starting point is usually relative to the person making this journey.  It can be from the lowest of the low points, where "life sucks", or it could begin from a very comfortable place where life isn't really that bad at all.  But with respect to Advent, the end point is always the coming of Christ, sent by God into a world that needs His love.  


The Prophet Isaiah promised that one would come to "make straight the crooked path" (Isaiah 11: 1-10) , and that promise would be fulfilled in Christ, the Son of the living God.  By applying the above principle of mathematics, that straight line, fulfilled in knowing Christ, becomes the shortest distance between us and God.


With that said, a disciple of Christ (the student of the Teacher) should always try to learn from, and BE as Christ IS for the world, hence becoming a "straight line", reducing the distance between the world and Christ.


I hope to be that "straight line" for all I meet, and I hope this Advent, you'd consider one or both of the options above by allowing Christ to shorten the distance between you and God, and you committing your life to shortening the distance between those you meet and Christ, who then will take of the rest!

Stay Awake!

Advent 2011: Stay Awake

It's not that we're asleep, in fact our society doesn't get enough sleep, it's that we don't pay enough attention to the details. We allow the summary to speak the "whole truth" without regard to the reality that years of research and education (or the lack thereof) might have a bearing on the accuracy and the authenticity of that Truth.  There is so much packed into our days, do we even recognize that within those days lies a valuable challenge or an answer or two?  


Mark's Gospel warns us to stay awake "for we know not the day, nor the hour".  The popular notion is that this is a warning about the coming of the end time, or even death, when in actuality it refers to the coming of Christ and His Kingdom.  I believe that it's easy to treat this as if it's all about heaven, or some afterlife moment... It's so far away that it doesn't really need our attention today.  After all, we're gonna be here another 100 years, right?  Mark's Gospel has a more urgent nature about it than to think that we're being prepared just for heaven... If it were Mark typing this blog, he would bold it and underline it: "Stay Awake"!  


YOU are being called to be ready TODAY, and right this instant to encounter the real Christ that is among us proclaiming that the "Reign of God is at hand"!  Advent IS a time of preparation for the coming of Christ, but let's be real... Christ has been born in Bethlehem, and He is waiting to be BORN AGAIN in your heart and in the way you live your life. So stay AWAKE and be ready!

Advent: Waiting on the World to Change

We know the song, and the tune popped into your head when you read the title... Now take a second to breathe in, and breathe out... Sing it in your heart and pray it on up... "We're waiting. Waiting on the world to change!"