Ordinary Time Cycle A

The O Antiphons

A tradition to help us in the last days of Advent to prepare for the coming of the Lord

O come, thou Wisdom from on high, Who ordrest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, and teach us the way to go. -

 

December 17th-
O Wisdom
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, Who to thy tribes on Sinai's height; In ancient times didst give the law, In cloud and majesty and awe.

 

December 18th-
O Sacred Lord
O come, Thou rod of Jesse's stem, From ev'ry foe deliver them; That trust thy mighty pow'r to save, And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.

 

-December 19th-
O Flower of Jesse's Stem
O come, Thou key of David come, And open wide our heav'nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path of misery.

 

-December 20th-O Key of David
O come, Thou Day spring from on high And cheer us by thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And earth's dark shadow put to flight. -

 

December 21st-O Radient Dawn
O come , Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all human kind; Bid thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thy self our Prince of Peace.

 

-December 22nd-O King of All the Nations
O come, O come, Emanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.

 

-December 23rd-
O Emmanuel

 

 

Gaudete Sunday Third Sunday Advent Cycle B

December 14,2014

Review the Readings

Listen to the Readings

 Notice the rose candle on the Advent Wreath is lit this Sunday

and...

the priest has the option of wearing rose colored vestments.

All of this is a visual reminder that the coming of the Messiah draws closer!

 

 

 

Rejoice = Gaudete

 

We can begin to rejoice because the news of Christmas, the coming of the Messiah draws closer...The question always because becomes...

Have we taken the time to look deep into ourselves to see our failing, our sins and come to realize that once again we need the Savior?  Or have we been so busy getting ready to Christmas that we have not taken the time to pray that we can see our sins and then to ask for mercy?

There is still a few a weeks left before Christmas, and this may be a good time to pray to be able to see our sins, and our need, once again,  for a Savior.  

Courage...

 

  

These words we will hear in the first reading were the same that were told to the Exiles in Babylon (587-538).  These are words of consolation for them and certainly hope for us.  The Messiah will come for them and comes daily for us.  Sins can be wiped out and forgiven because of Christ.

 

Now can be our time to rejoice because when we are down or when we sin, He comes with forgiveness, compassion, and mercy.

Saint Paul encourages his converts to give thanks to God for the gift of faith that was given to them. He tells this to that early minority Christian community that at times, suffered greatly from the pagan majority around them. Those same words are for us when we are face with our problems, our rejections, our suffering, that can come from the world around us to believe that money and material things are what really counts...What a lie!

Paul's words are a reminder to us today.

 

 

 

 

In the Gospel we hear of the Baptist sent by God to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.

 

 

 

There is much to rejoice about.  

Imagine that after generations God has always provided prophets, from Abraham to John to foretell the one to take us, the human race, out of our Exile in sin.  

God has never given up on the human race, which also means, he will not give up on us as individuals.

 

If we really think about this great love for each of us, then this is, indeed, a time to rejoice.  

He comes again...

Rejoice = Gaudete

 

You have probably notice that up until now  the readings have not dealt at all with the Christmas Story.  But starting December 17th, the readings begin to deal with the story of the coming of Christ.  This time is marked by the use of the O Antiphons,

Click here for more on the O Antiphons