Rejoice! Ero Cras! - Radix Jesse

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan's tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save,
and give them victory over the grave.

O come, thou Root of Jesse's tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call. 

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.

Radix Jesse

Root of Jesse

Isaias 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. Isaias 11:10 In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be glorious. Micheas 5:1 Now shalt thou be laid waste, O daughter of the robber: they have laid siege against us, with a rod shall they strike the cheek of the judge of Israel. Romans 15:8-13 For I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. But that the Gentiles are to glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: Therefore will I confess to thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and will sing to thy name. And again he saith: Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again: Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and magnify him, all ye people. And again Isaias saith: There shall be a root of Jesse; and he that shall rise up to rule the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing; that you may abound in hope, and in the power of the Holy Ghost. Apocalypse 5:1-5 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it. And one of the ancients said to me: Weep not; behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

Rejoice! Ero Cras! - Adonai

O come, O come, great Lord of might, 

who to thy tribes on Sinai's height
in ancient times once gave the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.

O sacred 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.

Adonai

Lord of Israel

Isaias 11:4-5 But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity the meek of the earth: and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of his loins: and faith the girdle of his reins. Isaias 33:22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us.

Rejoice! Ero Cras! - Sapientia

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.

 
The O Antiphons

The seven "O Antiphons" (also called the "Greater Antiphons" or "Major Antiphons") are prayers that come from the Breviary's Vespers during the Octave before Christmas Eve, a time which is called the "Golden Nights."

Each Antiphon begins with "O" and addresses Jesus with a unique title which comes from the prophecies of Isaias and Micheas (Micah), and whose initials, when read backwards, form an acrostic for the Latin "Ero Cras" which means "Tomorrow I come." Those titles for Christ are:

Sapientia
Adonai
Radix Jesse
Clavis David
Oriens
Rex Gentium
Emmanuel

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show you people the way to salvation.

 These glorious titles in more detail:

Title:	Meaning:	Old Testament prophetic verses:
Sapientia	Wisdom	Isaias 11:2-3 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord, He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. Isaias 28:29 This also is come forth from the Lord God of hosts, to make his counsel wonderful, and magnify justice.

 

As We Wait in JoYfuL HopE for the Coming of Our Savior

Happy Gaudete Sunday!  I'm a day late at getting this posted, but this Sunday when we light the rose colored candle on our Advent wreathes represents the JoYfuL HopE we have for the coming of our Savior. Christmas is drawing near! The celebration of the birth of our Lord is drawing near. Thus, we are to be filled with joy and thanksgiving for all the blessings in our lives and those to come. God has promised a Savior. He is about to arrive. Have we cleaned house spiritually to be ready for Him?

I can think of two times in the past few years when I have been "exuberantly joyful" and have shared such an expression with those around me. First, in late fall 2008 and early spring of 2009 this seemed to be me. I was so full of joy. The fall semester had brought on a challenge: God was calling me closer and closer to himself, and I had been running the other way for a while. Then, what (or who) I was running towards was gone. For most of September and the beginning of October I was kept myself extra busy and did not face my grief. Some where along the way, I broke (October 2 - Feast of Guardian Angels). Long story short, I attended the Prayer and Action reunion in early November, where a seminarian reminded me that pink (rose) is the color of joy in the Catholic church. I've always been a sucker for the color pink. Short story - I began to seek a deeper relationship with Christ, and even began to look into considering religious life (more about all that another time...). I was joyful.

The second occasion in which I expressed and experienced "exuberant joy" was this past January 2010. A fellow K-Stater and I were up to some spiritual mischief with green scapulars. Also, I had just returned from Christmas break, which had included a trip to Orlando, Florida for the National FOCUS conference. Hmm.

On these two occasions, I felt closer to God than most any other time in my life. That joy is something I wish I could have everyday. Those glimpses of true joy are reminders to me that God's will is being done in my life, in his time. The baby Jesus was born at the right time, and fulfilled the promise of a savior (which we see in the death and resurrection of Christ, later). On this Sunday of Joy, I refocus the hope of God's will being done in my life in His time. Pslam 138:8 "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for you."

I've just moved (today) from my student teaching location to my real job location.  I'm a college graduate. I'm at a new place in life, and have many concerns about my future. It is strange to think that I don't have to keep my boxes around, as I really might be able to live here for more than a year. None the less, I have a joyful hope for all that God will do with me here in this place. "Let it be done unto me, according to your word."

I leave you with the prayer immediately following the Our Father during Mass, when the Priest says:  Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are reminded at every Mass we attend to wait in JoYfuL HopE, for the coming of Christ in our lives, and eventually, our arrival into eternal life. Aww-spiration.