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.

_{Great Antiphon of Advent}

The first of the Antiphons is a reminder of the Wisdom being spoken of is the Word of God and that the Word of God, as St. John tells us in his Gospel is Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It is a reminder that at the start of creation Jesus, the Word of God was present with the Creator of all things and that Jesus is the ruler of all of creation.

John uses the term “was” when speaking of the Word of God. This indicates that the Word, the Logos of God exists without a starting point and emphasizes that the Word has an eternal existence without Beginning.

Isaiah’s prophecy says “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:2-3

At Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan by John, the Holy Spirit shall rest upon him. The Messiah will judge people by what is in their hearts and his teachings shall strike the earth and make all things new.

O Come Lord Jesus and teach us all the ways that lead to life.

One of the things I miss the most from my days in the Monastery is the house’s liturgical rhythm. Each morning, we would rise for the first prayers at 6:30 am. The monks would gather in the chapel, the sun still not up yet, and we would greet the day with prayer. Throughout the rest of the day, there would be other times of prayer and work.

As the seasons changed outside of the Monastery, so did the liturgical seasons inside of the Monastery. As the light faded, the Advent season would begin with its promise of hope, peace, love, and Joy. But within the season of Advent, another shift takes place seven days before the start of the Christmas Season.

These last seven days do not have a name of their own, and for most people, there is no change at all. But starting with Vespers on December 17th, the antiphons used to introduce the Magnificat shift. Each day brings further anticipation of the feast and the revelation of the names or titles of Jesus Christ.

They are called the “O” antiphons because they begin with the vocative particle “O.” Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are:

17 December: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
18 December: O Adonai (O Lord)
19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
20 December: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
21 December: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
22 December: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
23 December: O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)

The exact origin of these antiphons is not known but some trace them as far back as the 4^th or 5^th century and by the 8^th century they are being used as part of liturgical celebrations in Rome.

It would also appear that the arrangement of these antiphons is no mistake.  Fr. William Saunders, writing in the Arlington Catholic Herald follows up on this idea that the arrangement of the antiphons was prophetic.

“According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 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, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, Tomorrow, I will come. So, the O Antiphons not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation but bring it to a joyful conclusion.”

Over the next seven days I will offer some brief commentary on each of the antiphons. I hope they aid in your preparation for the coming of the great feast of Christmas.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Today we take a break. We take a break from the usual penance and reconciliation that is usually associated with Advent, and we pause for a brief moment and change things up a bit. On this Third Sunday of Advent, this Gaudete Sunday, we pause, we light the rose-colored candle, and we think of love. The love which passes all understanding.

We are sort of any way at the halfway point in our preparation for Christmas. By now, most, if not all of you have your decorations unpacked and up around your homes. Nicky and I finished if one ever really finishes decorating this past week. Each decoration and each ornament on the tree or a shelf remind me of love. Most of the ornaments on our tree have come from places Nicky, and I have visited together since we have been married. Each of those ornaments brings back happy memories of days gone by but not forgotten. We also hung up Oonagh’s first Christmas ornament, so the tradition of building memories continues. Although she does not understand what is going on, although she does really like the lights, we await the day when she is filled with wonder and awe.

Advent’s theme is expressed in three different ways concerning Jesus; his first, his present, and his final Advent. We prepare for his birth, his first Advent, or his first incarnation. We ponder on the ways Christ is at work in the world. No, not fixing elections or sending storms to smite people, by the way, through us his professed followers, how we show love to others, especially those less fortunate than ourselves. And, as we have heard already, we ponder his return. But the common thread that is woven through all of this is love. God so loved the world that he sent his son. We are to show the love of Christ is all that we do. When Christ returns, there will be great celebrations.

The theologian Henri Nouwen, writing about love and joy, makes a distinction between joy and happiness. While happiness is dependent on external conditions, joy is “the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing – sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death – can take that love away.” And so, joy can be present even in the midst of sadness. Even though our celebrations are not what they should be or what we have planned, we can still seek out joy in them.

Today’s scripture lesson comes from the Prophet Zephaniah. A concise work in the Hebrew Scriptures that you will miss if you do not look closely. My study bible has little tabs for each of the books, but there is no tab for Zephaniah because the book is so small. The book may be short, but it is filled with words that we need to hear every year, but I think, especially this year.

Rejoice and exult with all your heart. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. The Lord is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. Do not fear. He will renew you with his love. I will save the lame. Gather the outcast. Change their shame into praise—all of these happy moments filled with love.

The prophets are essential in our spiritual life. The prophets say what no one wants to hear, what no one wants to believe. Prophets pint in directions no one wants to look. Prophets hear the voice of God when no one else is listening. They see God where no one else, even dreams that God could be present. The feel God. Prophets feel the compassion that God has for all of us. Today’s message from Zephaniah is one of love, but it is also a message of lament and repentance. It is a message of God’s love and a message of hope.

We hear from the prophets during the season of Advent because they bring an essential message: “Do not fear… The Lord, your God, is in your midst.” The prophets teach us a fundamental phrase in the language of God, and it is a pastoral word, spoken into the heart of the human experience. “Do not fear.” This is not a plea but a declarative sentence.

In the Gospel of Luke, we hear similar language. When the Angel appears to Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, he says to him, “Do not be afraid.” When this same Angel comes before Mary, he says to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary.” Later in the story, this same Angel will appear before Shepherds in the field, and he says to them, “Do not be afraid… I am bringing you good news of great joy!” After the Resurrection, when Jesus appears to those he loved, he says to them, “Peace, do not be afraid.” And today, God, once again through the Prophet, is telling us, “Do not be afraid!”

Many of us live with a sense of fear, especially these days. Am I going to lose my job? Will there be enough food and other things I need? What about my health? Should I get the vaccine? Will there be a civil war over the political nonsense raging in the country? What will happen tomorrow? Am I loved? For many of us, the world looks bleak and uninviting. For many of us, it isn’t easy to get into the spirit of the season. But along comes Zephaniah’s pastoral words to the people of God that acknowledges these fears and dispels them with a promise of a transforming joy and no threat of judgment.

The words that we heard this morning from the Prophet illustrate the practice of lighting the rose-colored candle on this Advent morning. In the lighting of that candle, we have a visual reminder of the joy and love that is coming. The purple candles remind us of the penitential nature of Advent and its close association with Lent. But on this third Sunday, we break from that, and we light that rose-colored one. In the days of the fast, it was lifted on this day because today is a day when we rejoice!

On this day, we are reminded of the love that God has for each of us. We are reminded not to fear, just as the Angel said to Zachariah, Mary, and the Shepherds. God loves each of us unconditionally, and that is the real message and meaning of Christmas. Amen.

“Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come.” Mark 13:33

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed for a podcast about the United States’ political situation. It was just a few days before the presidential election, and tensions were running relatively high. The host of the program asked if I was nervous about unrest following the results regardless of who won. I admitted I was a little apprehensive, but I did not think things would be all that bad since I live in Massachusetts. As the interview continued, I could sense that the host was unsure of where I was going with the answers to his questions. I finally said, “as a person of faith, I have to have hope.”

The First Sunday of Advent’s theme is hope, hope for things to come, and hope for the long-expected Messiah.

The Gospel for this first Sunday comes from Mark 13:24-37, and at first glance, one might not find much hope in the words Mark had written. Mark writes of what is know of the “end times,” the time when Jesus will come as King and ruler of the world. I don’t spend much time thinking about those days because Mark tells us we don’t know when it will happen; only God knows. But we have hope anyway.

My hope is not for the day when Jesus returns and wipes certain people off the face of the earth. Hope does not lie in his “flaming chariot of smoke” or any other apocalyptic language that Mark uses and that some fixate on. My hope rests on the assurance that “God so loved the world.”

The last seven or eight months have been difficult for all of us. Not only have we had to deal with the pandemic, but race relations are at an all-time low here in America. Riots and protests have broken out in most major cities across our country. The political situation has not helped either. As a society, we have become divided along so many different lines; it is hard to keep them all straight, and at times, it is difficult to hold on to this idea of hope. But hold on, we must.

Advent is a time of waiting, of expectation, of preparation, and hope. In the Gospel, Mark tells us to watch for the signs, and he uses the fig tree as an example. When the tender shoots of the fig tree begin to grow, and the first of its fruit begins to show, we know that summer is close at hand. Mark is telling us not to worry about figuring out when things will happen but to be watchful and ready when it does.

This Advent season gives us a time like no other. The pace of our lives has slowed down a little from what we usually go through this time of year. We will not be attending the parties we usually attend nor many of the events. For the most part, our shopping will be online or very limited in person, so we have more time to sit and prepare spiritually for the coming of the Christ Child, which is “the reason for the season.”

As Christians, we have hope because, as the Prophet, Isiah told us, “darkness shall cover the earth, but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.” (Isaiah 60:2) We light the first candle of Advent today, hoping that the light will overcome the darkness in the world. And we have hope that it will.

I was asked recently about the meaning of the Advent wreath. I had to search my seminary memory banks to answer that question. In essence, the Advent Wreath is about bringing light into a dark world, but the meaning is deeper than that. I was also surprised to learn that the Advent Wreath tradition only dates to the 17th century.

According to research conducted by Mary Jane Haemig, Professor of Church History at Luther Seminary of St. Paul, Minnesota, the modern-day Advent Wreath was started by Johann Hinrich Wichern, a Protestant Pastor and missionary to the urban poor. In 1839, Pastor Wichern created a large wooden ring from a cartwheel and placed twenty red and four small white candles around the circle. Each weekday, and Saturday a red candle would be lit, and on Sundays, a white one. The popularity of this ring grew into the smaller version that we are familiar with today. During the 1920s, Roman Catholics in German began to adopt the wreath’s use during the Advent season, and its popularity spread to North America in the 1930s.

So, what is the symbolism of the Advent Wreath?

Advent wreaths a circular indicating the endless love of God for all of creation. Most Advent Wreaths are made from evergreen leaves or branches representing the eternal life brought by Jesus Christ. As previously mentioned, the candles on the Advent Wreath represent the light of Christ coming into the world, although each candle has a meaning of its own.

Each candle of the Advent Wreath represents one of the Christian concepts of hope, peace, joy, and love. Many Advent Wreath will also have a larger white candle in the center that lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to symbolize the Good News of the birth of Jesus Christ. The candle is white because this is the Liturgical color for the celebration of feast days.

Three of the four candles on the Advent Wreath are purple. Purple is the traditional color for the Advent Season, which represents the original penitential nature of Advent. The fourth candle is pink or rose and is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word meaning “rejoice ye.” The theme of the third Sunday is joy, so the penitential nature of the season is paused as we recall the joy of the Christ Child’s coming.

I encourage all of you to begin or continue the tradition of lighting the Advent Wreath in your homes. The wreath does not have to be fancy or even store-bought. It can be made from simple items from around your home and yard. Whatever you chose to use, a blessing of the wreath is appropriate. Here is one I like to use.

Lord our God, we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ: he is Emmanuel, the hope of the peoples, he is the wisdom that teaches and guides us, he is the Savior of every nation. Lord God, let your blessing come upon us as we light the candles of this wreath. May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ’s promise to bring us salvation. May he come quickly and not delay. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The blessing may conclude with a verse from “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”:

O come, desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of humankind; bid ev’ry sad division cease and be thyself our Prince of peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

—From Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers

On Sunday, November 29th, the Church enters the season of Advent, the preparatory time before the celebration of Christmas. Advent comes from the Latin word Latin adventus “coming; arrival” and was considered, by the early Church, a time of penitence and reconciliation much like the season of Lent before Easter.

With the commercialization of Christmas, Advent has fallen out of favor as a time to slow down and meditate on the season’s meaning. Advent was a time of fasting and abstinence that lasts for the four weeks before Christmas. Homes would not be decorated until the eve of Christmas, a season that lasts until the Epiphany on January 6th.

Like most traditions in the Church, it is unclear as to when Advent became celebrated. There is some thought that Advent existed before 480 AD but became an official part of the Church calendar at the Council of Tours in 567 AD.

Four distinct themes mark the season of Advent; Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy, and in current practice, a candle is lit for each week in Churches and homes. The candles’ lighting reminds us, in the darkness of the time of year, that the light is coming. Each week, as we light more candles, the light becomes brighter to lighten the darkened world. The Scriptures appointed for the Sundays of Advent also remind us of the light that is to come.

For most of us, Advent is a time filled with shopping, parties, sending Christmas cards, and decorating our homes for Christmas. Forgotten is the real meaning of the season as a time of expectation, waiting, and preparation. The weeks leading to Christmas get busier and busier with each passing year, and Advent is all but forgotten.

With the pandemic still about, this year could be a time for us to recapture some of what Advent is supposed to be about. Most of us will not be as busy as we usually are, which will allow us time to slow down and meditate on the coming season. Perhaps we can spend more time reading the Scriptures and attending worship services online, or just spend some time in quiet contemplation.