Meditation - Monday 17th. December2007 - REJOICE! ... The O Antiphons

[BarbaraTherese]

Today, 17th December in Advent to the 24th. December, our Liturgy changes pace and begins to increasingly look forward joyfully to the Birth of Jesus.
Today also begins what is known as the O Antiphons which are overwhelmingly beautiful and occur every Advent commencing on 17th. December:
catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=958
id=958%between%

http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/images/dec17wisdomsm.jpg O Sapientia (December 17) O Wisdom (Eccl 24: 5), you came forth from the mouth of the Most High (Sir 24: 30), and reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly (Wis 8: 1). Come, and teach us the way of prudence (Isa 40: 14).

The antiphons beg God with mounting impatience to come and save His people. The order of the antiphons climb climatically through our history of Redemption.
In the first, O Sapientia, we take a backward flight into the recesses of eternity to address Wisdom, the Word of God. In the second, O Adonai, we have leaped from eternity to the time of Moses and the Law of Moses (about 1400 B.C.). In the third, O Radix Jesse, we have come to the time when God was preparing the line of David (about 1100 B.C.). In the fourth, O Clavis David, we have come to the year 1000. In the fifth, O Oriens we see that the line of David is elevated so that the peoples may look on a rising star in the east, and hence in the sixth, O Rex Gentium, we know that He is king of all the world of man. This brings us to the evening before the vigil, and before coming to the town limits of Bethlehem, we salute Him with the last Great O, O Emmanuel, God-with-us (from He Cometh by Fr. McGarry).

Mass Readings
usccb.org/nab/121707.shtml

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Gospel

Meditation
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=12&day=17&year=2007&x=9&y=5

Portions of the text below have been edited out by me, to read the whole text go to link above:

Many people find reading the Psalms a laborious task because these prayers are often couched in lofty and extravagant language. But the richness and wonders to be found in them is well worth the effort of studying and praying through them—especially in light of our faith in Christ.

… they speak of God’s blessing and favor poured upon the kings of Israel—a blessing that would then flow to the whole nation. Then, after Jesus rose from the dead, the first Christians began to read the Hebrew Scriptures in a new way, seeing them as pointing toward Jesus and giving insights into who Jesus was and what he had come to do.
… as the early Christians did, we would find an image of the kind of king Jesus wants to be in our lives. …Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . to bring tidings to the poor . . . to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18). In both passages, we can see Jesus as the King of kings who rules with justice; cares for the outcast; and brings peace, hope, and salvation to his people. … But remember: The salvation story has not ended. God’s plan continues to unfold in our time.** If we look carefully, we can see the reflection of our own lives side-by-side with Jesus’ life.** We can gain a better understanding of how our Father wants to work in our lives as well. There is a place in his kingdom for every one of us. So don’t be afraid to surrender to Jesus, not only as his servant but as his brother or sister as well. Let him rule “from sea to sea” in your life, so that he can govern you with justice and right judgment” (Psalm 72:8,2). “I surrender all to you, O Lord! Take me and use me as you continue to unfold God’s plan of salvation.”