O Emmanuel

December 23rd Liturgy of the Word Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24Luke 1:57-66 O Emmanuel O come, O come, and be our God-with-usO long-sought With-ness for a world without,O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken NameCome Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,O quickened little wick so tightly curled,Be folded with …

O Rex Gentium

December 22nd Liturgy of the Word 1 Sam 1:24-28Luke 1:46-56 O Rex Gentium O King of our desire whom we despise,King of the nations never on the throne,Unfound foundation, cast-off cornerstone,Rejected joiner, making many one,You have no form or beauty for our eyes,A King who comes to give away his crown,A King within our rags …

O Adonai

December 18th Jeremiah 23:5-8Matthew 1:18-24 O 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. O Adonai Unsayable, you chose to speak one tongue,Unseeable, you gave yourself away,The Adonai, the TetragramatonGrew by a wayside in …

O Sapientia

December 17th Liturgy of the WordGen 49:2, 8-10Mat 1:1-17 O Sapientia I cannot think unless I have been thought,Nor can I speak unless I have been spoken.I cannot teach except as I am taught,Or break the bread except as I am broken.O Mind behind the mind through which I seek,O Light within the light by …

The Light

Advent Sunday 3 Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 Thessalonians 5:16-24John 1:6-8, 19-28 Two themes intertwine in this week’s Liturgy of the Word. It’s the moment in Advent when we rejoice that the Lord is at hand and also commit ourselves to preparing for that coming. The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,for the Lord …

Prepare

Advent Sunday 2 Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-112 Peter 3:14-18Mark 1:1-8 ‘Console my people, console them, says your God. ‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that her time of service is ended…’ It’s impossible for me to read or hear the quote above without also hearing the plaintive melody from Handel’s Messiah. Texts …