ADVENT:
PREPARE
A
PLACE
for CHRIST
Rorate Coeli
Introit; ╬ Rorate
Hymn; ╬
O Antiphons;
╬
Puer Natus
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Gherarducci (ca. 1380), Illuminated Missal |
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Illuminated Missal |
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CHRISTMAS
DAY
MASS
INTROIT
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Gherarducci,
Illuminated Missal |
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A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us: Whose government is upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Angel of Great Counsel. (Isaiah 9:6)
INTROIT
(Entrance Antiphon)
for
THE
MASS
of CHRISTMAS
DAY
A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us: Whose government is upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Angel of Great Counsel. (Isaiah 9:6)
u-er
na-tus
est no-bis,
et
fi-lius
da-tus
est no-bis,
A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us:
cu-ius impé-ri-um su-per hú-me-rum e - jus
Whose
government is upon His shoulder:
et vo-cá-bi-tur nomen
ei- us, magni
consí-li-i An-ge-lus.
and His
Name shall be called Angel of Great Counsel.
V/.
Cantate Domino canticum novum quia
mirabilia fecit.
(
Sing to the Lord a new song, for He
has done wonderful things
THEMES
1.
GOD
AS
CHILD
AND
SON:
THE
GIFT
of
DIVINE
FILIATION
CHILD: יֶלֶד (yeled); παιδίον (paidion); Puer
SON: בֵּן (bēn); υἱὸς (huios); Filius
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Gherarducci, Puer Natus est (1395) |
CHILD
–
vulnerability – dependence on community
SON – hope for future; One Who will carry on. “I
will not be the last”
Lumen Fidei §51 “journey towards a future of hope”
§52 Faith and the family and what is symbolizes (as sign of hope)
“The movement of love between Father, Son and Spirit runs through our history, and Christ draws us to himself in order to save us (cf. Jn 12:32). At the centre of our faith is the confession of Jesus, the Son of God, born of a woman, who brings us, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, to adoption as sons and daughters (cf. Gal 4:4). [in other words, the titles of child and son are ours, as well!
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| BUT when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Gal.4:4-6) | ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον, 5 ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ, ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν. 6 Ὅτι δέ ἐστε υἱοί, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν κρᾶζον· αββα ὁ πατήρ. 7 ὥστε οὐκέτι εἶ δοῦλος ἀλλὰ υἱός· εἰ δὲ υἱός, καὶ κληρονόμος διὰ θεοῦ. |
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2.
GOD
AS
RULER:
HUMANITY
AS
STEWARD
GOVERNMENT: מִשְׂרָה (misrā); ἀρχὴ (archē); Imperium
STEWARD / GARDINER
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Medieval Illum Jewish Psalter: Psalm 1, Ashre! |
DOMINION of GOD - STEWARDSHIP of HUMANITY
Genesis Laudato Si and Theology of Body
Laudato Si,§62 ff.: To “work” and “keep/guard” the Garden (Gen 2:15)
Pope Francis encouraged us to read Dante's Divine Comedy, especially during the Year of Mercy
The Garden as Dante's Image of restored Heaven
PRAYER
and CONTEMPLATION
RECREATE
THE
GARDEN
in OUR
HEARTS
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Medieval Illum Jewish Psalter: Psalm 1, Ashre! |
3.
GOD
AS
GOSPEL:
HUMAN
FAITH
in
THE
GOOD
NEWS
MESSENGER: [פִּלְאִי (pil’î) wonderful]; ἄγγελος (angelos); Angelus
GOSPEL: εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion); GOOD NEWS
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Andrei Rubilev, The Blessed Trinity (c.1425) |
THE
GOOD
NEWS
of
DIVINE
LOVE
WE
ARE
THE
HERALDS
of
DIVINE
COMPASSION
Fundamental Problem: We have a predisposition to believe that God is grasping, exacting, “Jealous of His prerogatives.”
In our moral exhortation we sometimes act as if we are afraid that if grace is [excessively] preached, sin will abound: Paul’s ancient question:
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| WHAT shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1) | Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; ἐπιμένωμεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἵνα ἡ χάρις πλεονάσῃ; |
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Pope Francis - MISERICORDIA et MISERA (Mercy [with those in] Misery)
Rorate Coeli: consolamini, consolamini, populus meus...(Is 40:1)
We can become a people who bless Pope FRANCIS: A People Who Bless
4.
GOD
AS
WISDOM:
EVANGELIZATION
AS
ADVOCACY
AND
PARTNERSHIP
COUNSELOR: יוֹעֵץ (yō‘ēs) ; βουλή (boulē); Counsilium
ADVOCATE: παράκλητος (paraklētos); HELPER
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Duccio, Siena Maesta: Emmaus (1310) |
COUNSEL / PRUDENCE / WISDOM
– How and when to communicate
– Companioning, walking with; learning language, inculturation
Evagelium Gaudii on Proclaiming Gospel (esp.§ 259-266)
Amoris Laetitia (nav) on Companionship with People of God on Journey
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Duccio, Siena Maesta: The Healing of the Blind Man (1310) |
WE
GO
TOGETHER
TO
GOD
The Rule of
Benedict,
ch. 72
AN
EXAMINATION
of CONSCIENCE
(Virtues and Vices of the
Tripartite Soul)
[1. DESIRE – Epithumia]
WE give thanks to you, Almighty God, for your gift to us of spiritual DESIRE, of a longing within us that impels us out of isolation and into your creation, where we catch glimpses of your beauty in the things you have made. Grant us the gifts of balance and ordering in the expression of our desire.
Forgive us for not treasuring
and using well the gifts of food and drink,
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
We ask your forgiveness for
the times when our response to the beauty of other human beings has led us into
fantasies, words, or deeds that do not find their final meaning in you:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
Forgive us for the time and
energy we have wasted in pursuing money, property, or possessions that do not
serve your purpose:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
Help us to reconsecrate to you our deepest desires, that you may transform our gluttony, our lust, and our avarice into selfless love:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
[2. ZEAL – Thumos]
WE give thanks to you, Almighty God, for your gift to us of spiritual ZEAL, for enthusiasm and dedication in opposing evil and attempting things that are difficult. Show us how to direct our righteous indignation only at the root causes of evil and injustice, never confusing the demonic with human beings for whom you died and who bear your image.
Forgive our inappropriate and
misdirected anger, especially the times we have been cruel or unkind to those
who deserve our gentleness and compassion:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
We ask your forgiveness for
the times we have turned our indignation inward, nursing what seemed to be
injustices and wrongs done to us, imagining that were martyrs:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
Forgive us for preferring
spiritual numbness and anesthesia to active engagement in doing your will. For
the times we have succumbed to torpor and cynicism:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
Teach us to reconsecrate to you our spiritual zeal, that we may rejoice in your calling and in our vocation to be your eager servants:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
[3. VISION – Nous/Theoria]
WE give you thanks, Almighty God, for your gift to us of spiritual VISION and thirst for truth. Grant us the gift of prudence, of knowing how and when to proclaim your Good News in words and images your people can understand. Make us constantly aware of how much we receive from them and from you.
We ask your forgiveness for
the times we have imagined that we are the origin of the good we do. For
refusing to acknowledge that everything we are is a gift we have received from
your people and from you:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
Forgive our superficiality,
our failure to acknowledge and proclaim your presence in the world, and
especially in the people you have created:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
We ask your forgiveness for
the times we have preferred isolation and separation to community and
engagement, for viewing people and circumstances as means to our ends, rather
than as reflections of your splendor – in short, for preferring hell to heaven:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
LORD, you are the author of our DESIRE, our ZEAL and our capacity for CONTEMPLATION. Renew and restore your gifts within us, and accept the offering we now make to you of all we are. Forgive, heal, and transform us:
We pray to you, Lord,
∫
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray together as our Lord Jesus taught us: Our Father ...
COLLECTS
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ALMIGHTY God,to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, That we may truly see into our hearts And offer to you all we find there. Help us truly to believe in your mercy and your power to heal and renew That we may repent and discover again the power to perfectly love you, and worthily proclaim your name, We ask this through Our Lord Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. One God, Forever and ever. Amen.
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O GOD, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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GRANT your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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FROM THE GOSPEL according to MATTHEW (11:28-30)
COME to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
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FROM THE PROPHET ISAIAH (44:24-45:8)[44] 24 THUS says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread out the earth […] who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’; 27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry, I will dry up your rivers’; 28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” [45] THUS says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 “I will go before you and level the mountains […] I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I gird you, though you do not know me, 6 that all may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7 I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe, I am the LORD, who do all these things.” 8 “SHOWER , O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth, and let it cause righteousness to spring up also; I the LORD have created it.”
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This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 2003
