Emmanuel, God-with-us

~~Last day to sing the O'Antiphons~~

December 23, 2010 O Emmanuel, Come

By now perhaps we are beginning to realize that we are among those people who are dwelling in partial darkness. We also need to remember that we are waiting for someone we already possess. The partial darkeness suggests a hiddeness. Sometimes what is hidden from us is our own goodness, our own light, our Inner Christ.

O Emmanuel, Beautiful Savior, Come into the partial darkness of our lives and reveal your face. You are Emmanuel: God-With-Us. Liberator of all who are in bondage. You are our hope. Come and save us. Make of us your own intimate face of "Joy for the World," O Emmanuel, Desire of the Nations, Come and set us free. O Come.

Go now and become God's personal JOY TO THE WORLD!

O Light Eternal, O Ruler of Nations

The joy of "O!" continues in our daily prayer

as we hear the mystical poet, Rumi, proclaim:

"Keep knocking and the joy inside

will eventually open a window

and look out to see who is there."

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December 21 (winter solstice) ~~

Today is our rising-sun day. Our eagness for the Dawn of God

to break into our lives grows stronger. And so we pray...

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O DAWNING LIGHT FROM THE EAST,

O Rising Sun bursting out of the darkness,

O Sacred Sun of Justice,

Come with your luminous face of Glory.

Shine on all who wait in darkness

for the radiance of your healing.

O You who are the splendor of Eternal Light,

enlighten us in our waiting.

O Come and shine on the embers of our hope.

O Come! O Come! O Come!

O Dear Desire of Every Nation! Our God is not a tribal God but a God whose heart includes all. In the eye of this Divine Lover we are one tribe. We are all in this Eternal Lover's tribe! Yes, All of us! Oh that we might live this truth...

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December 22, 2011~~ We pray to One who is all inclusive:

O Servant King of the Nations~~ O deep, dear desire of every longing heart, you are the Messiah, the Anointed One for whom we have waited with eagerness. You are the foundation of our lives. Come to all the nations. Lay your hands upon the earthen vessels of our lives. Unite us as One People. Break into our hearts and reveal to us our own love. This is the hidden love we never knew we possessed! This is the inclusive love that leaves no one out. ...and we never knew we possessed such love until you broke into our lives. O, joy of every longing heart!

O Servant King, O Come.

O Root of Jessie--O Key of David

As Christmas draws near we continue to invoke our God

to come and save us as we sing the hauntingly beautiful o'antiphons.

December 19, 2011 ~~ We honor our roots today. We are a part of our ancestors whether we like it or not. I tend to look at that truth in joy even though we can be fairly certain that not everything in our blood line is or was as we would have desired it to be. It's really ok! Into our lives with all its faithfulness and sinfulness God comes. Jessie is a metaphor for someone in our orginal history who was faithful.

O ROOT OF JESSIE~~Tree of Life, You are a sign for all peoples. Let the mighty ones fall silent before you. You have flowered forth from the royal line of King David. You are our servant king. Let the nations bow before you. Come, take root in us. Help us to blossom forth from your Servant-Heart. Deliver us quickly, O Come!

December 20, 2011~~Just as it was from David's line that the Christ was to be born; it is from our line that "the-Christ-life" is to continue. Where is the key that will reach the hearts of the nations? Christ is that key! And we, also, must become the key that unlocks closed doors and closed hearts.

O Key of David, Shepherd King and Holder of life, you unlocked the door to God's heart. Come, free all that is captive within us. Pry open our self-made prisons. Break the chains of those who use their power to keep others imprisoned. Lead all captives into freedom. Set free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. O Come!

Break the chains

of those who use their power

to keep others imprisoned!

O Wisdom, Come

OK! OK!

Someone just informed me

that I've been dancing a little too fast

and a bit too long

so I will try to come back.

Advent seems like a good time to return.

The O Antiphons begin today~~for Christians, these ancient voices speak of our longing for the coming of the One who will save us from all those lost and exiled parts of ourselves. Indeed, the one who is coming is the One we call our Savior. And so we clear a space inside our hearts for the names of God to live.

We begin by focusing on the word, O! In this case it is more than a letter in the alphabet. It is the wonder, surprise, joy, exuberance that we experience when something "goes wide in our hearts" and causes us to exclaim, "O!" It is the miracle of the Christ we are waiting for and sometimes we find that Christ in unexpected places.

December 17, 2011: Today we cry out,

O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High reaching to the ends of the earth. O Sapientia, O Holy Word of God, you rule all of creation with your firm, yet tender care, Come, Open up the highway of our hearts to receive your salvation. O Come!

December 18: O Lord and Loaf-Giver for the House of Israel (and now for our own households) You appeared to Moses in a burning bush. You gave him the Holy Law on Mt. Sinai. Teach us to look at the law as little lights along the way. You pass out loaves and rekindle weary hearts. O Come with your all-embracing arms to set us free. O Come!

~~Prayers somewhat adapted by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB

See You Shortly

I'll be back real soon!

I'm dancing just as fast as I can!