VALLEY Let every VALLEY be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low… In Chapter 40 Isaiah announces with great urgency Judah’s triumphal return from exile in Babylon. What was once a valley will now be filled in. There will be no need to scale a mountain either as these will be laid low. …
Monthly Archives: December 2024
O Oriens
December 21st Song of Songs 2:8-14Luke 1:39-45 O Radiant Dawn, splendour of eternal light,sun of justice;come, shine on thosewho dwell in darknessand the shadow of death. O Oriens First light and then first lines along the eastTo touch and brush a sheen of light on waterAs though behind the sky itself they tracedThe shift and …
Advent Alphabet (U)
That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city;to guard us he has set wall and rampart about us. Open the gates! Let the UPRIGHT nation come in, she, the faithful one whose mind is steadfast, who keeps the peace, because she trusts you. The people of …
O Clavis David
December 20th Liturgy of the Word Isaiah 7:10-14Luke 1:26-38 O Key of DavidO royal power of Israelcontrolling at your willthe gate of Heaven:Come, break down the prison wallsof death for those who dwell in darknessand lead your captive people into freedom. O Clavis David Even in the darkness where I sitAnd huddle in the midst …
Advent Alphabet (T)
Widen the space of your TENT,stretch out your hangings freely,lengthen your ropes, make your pegs firm… I have always loved this text. The hope and possibility in the image of strengthening and expanding a tent have sustained me in some times of wilderness. In Isaiah Ch 54 these verses are preceded by a lament for …
O Radix Jesse
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25Luke 1:5-25 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. O Radix Jesse All of us sprung from one deep-hidden seed,Rose from a root …
Advent Alphabet (S)
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God in whom we hoped for SALVATION;the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. Just before this verse from Isaiah 25 we have the evocative imagery of the heavenly banquet. With its ‘fine wines’ and ‘foods rich and juicy’, it is an image of …
O Adonai
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 the light …
Advent Alphabet (R)
REJOICES I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul REJOICES in my God,for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation,he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity, like a bridegroom wearing his wreath,like a bride adorned in her jewels. In the three books which make up the writings ascribed to Isaiah …
O Sapientia
17th DecemberO Sapientia Gen 49:2, 8-10Mat 1:1-17 O Wisdom, O holy Word of God,you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care.Come and show your peoplethe way to salvation. 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 …