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.

This antiphon draws our attention to the relationship between God and man.

We coming from clay and burned with God’s love, become living stones in the Mystical Body of Christ.

Mary’s own mystery is so much interwoven with that of her Son. At the Annunciation the angel came and said to her:

"Rejoice full of grace,the Lord is with you... You will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

Tonight the O Antiphons continue in the theme of Our Lord’s Davidic Kingship. The “Key of David” reflects the kingly powers conferred on Jesus as successor to the throne of the David, as well as the fulfilment of God’s promise made to him in 2 Samuel 7 that he would rule over the House of Israel forever. These ‘kingly’ O Antiphons draw forth this aspect of the Lord’s character as Messiah and focus strongly on the nature of His Power.

Tonight we sing to the Lord and address Him as the ‘Root of Jesse’ who stands as a signal for the nations, and the question could arise as to how a root can be said to stand so that it is visible to our sight. But Isaiah also prophesied, ‘a shoot shall spring from the stock of Jesse.’

Thus Christ is both root and fruit of Jesse. He is the One source and foundation of existence which is impregnable, indestructible, unchanging and therefore utterly dependable.

Oh Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush, and gave him the law on Sinai.
Oh, come and save us with your mighty power.

Recently I saw two photographs that have stayed with me and have inspired me to write this refection. The first was taken seconds after a healthy baby girl was born. By the expression on her face, and her little arms and fingers outstretched, it looked like she was in awe and praise of God for this gift of life. The next photo was this same baby all wrapped up snug in her mother’s arms.

This evening we begin the first of the ‘O’ Antiphons. These antiphons are a set of seven Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers during the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They are also known as the Great Advent Antiphons or the Great ‘O’ Antiphons. The texts of these antiphons are believed to have originated in Italy in or before the sixth century.

Each antiphon is a title of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Isaiah 11:1-2. We sing these antiphons from December 17th to December 23rd. The first letter of the titles, from last to first, appear to form a Latin acrostic. “Ero cras,”

In this antiphon the coming Messiah is given the title of Key of David. A key is used to open and close, to lock and unlock. How are we to use this key? The answer is found in this morning’s Gospel of the Annunciation.
As I have been sitting with this Gospel what stands out for me are all the emotions: the joy, fear and uncertainty, but above all, the excitement of the Angel Gabriel.

In a few minutes we will sing the second great ‘O’ antiphon in Latin, just before the Magnificat. The translation in our breviaries reads:

O Adonai, and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush, and gave him the law on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power.

The first Advent ‘O Antiphon’, ‘O Wisdom’, is woven from the book of Wisdom of Sirach (24:3) and the book of Wisdom (8:1). The wisdom that has come from the mouth of the Most High is His Son, the eternal Word of God. As St. John of the Cross say, in this one Word that the Father spoke, there is hidden everything he had to say - all Divine Wisdom. According to it, he created the world, according to it, he rules it and saved it.

The Mass readings for this first Sunday of Advent provide us with a wake-up call: St Paul tells us “you must wake up now” and in the Gospel Jesus tells us to “stay awake!” while the Prophet Isaias invites us to “walk in the light of the Lord.” So as we begin a new Church year we are invited to come into the light – to remove the blinds from the windows of our hearts and to let the light shine in – remembering that the true Light is Jesus Himself. He is the True Light shining on us and who desires to penetrate and posses our inmost being.

Immanuel, a name which means God is with us.
In Jesus we see our God made visible.

This is what Christ said on coming into the world. “You, who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, prepared a body for me. I am coming to do your will.” And this will was for us, you and me, to be made Holy by the offering of that body once and for all, for our salvation

O Rising Sun. You are the splendour of Eternal Light and the Sun of Justice.
O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness, those who dwell in the shadows of death.

At this time of year, and today as the shortest day of the year, it is wonderful how the Church puts on our lips this antiphon where we call on the Light of Christ to come and enlighten our darkness. My prayer during this Advent season is asking for the grace to acknowledge the times when we prefer darkness before true light, as the intercessions for Week One of Advent put it.

The fourth of the Advent antiphons evokes the coming of Jesus with a title referring to the great King David and the prophecy of Isaiah, who wrote:
‘I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder; when it opens, no one will close; when it closes, no one will open it‘ (Is.22, 22)

How to understand this prophecy?

“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.”

In this antiphon we call on God by the name Adonai. The dictionary says that this word comes from the Cannanite and Hebrew word adon, which means - LORD. When God appeared to Moses, he called himself: I AM WHO I AM. (Ex 3:14). Out of reverence the Jews did not utter his name but substituted Adonai.

Young women are invited to join Dominican Nuns on Zoom as we reflect on the meaning of Advent and Christmas.

An exceptionally good answer, taken from
‘The Pastoral Letters of St Charles Borromeo,
is worthy of prayerful meditation,
and will hopefully increase
your amazement in the wonder
and mercy of God, and lead you
closer to Him as you live through
these days of Advent
(– you’ll find it in the Office of Readings today)

O King whom all the peoples desire,
you are the cornerstone which makes all one.

Our 'O' Antiphon tonight is about a King who became an infant - not an infant who became a King. Here we hear echoes already of the Beatitudes - Blessed are the poor in spirit. As usual Jesus turns things upside down. He exposes the stupidity of pride and proves the wisdom of humility.

He could have assumed our nature in adult form and proceeded swiftly to His task, but He chose not to.

O Rising Sun
You are the Splendour of Eternal Light
and the Sun of Justice
come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and
in the shadow of death.

A few day ago one of our Sisters showed me a photo of some Canadian square with a Christmas tree. We were shocked by the thousand of electrical lamps in that square, shining all around. I ponder if people seeking for light, does this light help them to find a real happiness? Today there is less faith in the world but more people seeking to switch-on lights.

O Root of Jesse set up as a sign to the peoples, come to save us and delay no more.

Yes, today we call upon God to save us and delay no more, this theme is prominent in all the Liturgy of this season. People through the ages right up to the present day either explicitly or implicitly have called upon God to save them – but the marvellous truth is that our loving Father in heaven wants it infinitely more than we could ever conceive in our finite minds and hearts. So much does He thirst for all peoples to be with Him for all eternity that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to be our Saviour and Redeemer.

Was is St Thomas Aquinas who observed that the Law and the commandments laid down for the people of Israel, and even the new law of the Gospel, would kill, if it had not been for the grace and the mercy of God, revealed in and by Jesus?

The Gospel passage we heard this morning at Mass, of Joseph’s intention to quietly divorce Mary so as not to draw down scandal – and even death – upon her, seems to make this observation a startlingly real fact – it seems to manifest the logical consequence of transgressing the law, or of rigidly observing it.

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.

The Genealogy of St Matthew’s Gospel, which we read this morning at Mass, always evokes St Paul’s exclamation in his letter to the Romans: “O the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments, how inscrutable his ways! To Him be glory for ever, Amen.” (Rom 11:33). Which one of us would have chosen a harlot, a prostitute, a murderer and adulterer as fitting ancestors of the Eternal Son of God?

The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudate Sunday – Gaudate means Rejoice – taken from the entrance antiphon “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. The Lord is near!”

One may ask if we can really rejoice this Advent/Christmas when our brothers and sisters all over the world are suffering so much as a result of the Pandemic which has left no one untouched. These words “rejoice in the Lord always” are taken from St Paul’s letter to the Philippines which he wrote while in prison.

During Advent the Church brings us back in time to the centuries before the coming of Christ – the readings allow us to identify with the sentiments, longings and hopes of the people of the Old Testament who awaited the Messiah. We see how God was at work in their lives, leading them to the truth about their relationship with Him and each other. Last Sunday the Prophet Isaiah presented us with the image of God as Father and the Potter who formed His people. In today’s first reading God is the Shepherd who gently leads His flock, feeding them and gathering the lambs in His arms, holding them against His breast.

Advent does not mean ‘expectation’ as some may think. It is a translation of the Greek word ‘parousia’ which means ’presence’, or more accurately, ‘arrival’, the beginning of a presence.

His presence has already begun, and we, faithful, are the ones through whom He wishes to be present in the world.
‘The Christ child comes’ in a real sense whenever human beings act out of authentic love for the Lord.