Terrapin Station

O Rex Gentium - December 22

O King of the gentiles and their desired One, the cornerstone that makes both one: come, and deliver us, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.

O Oriens - December 21

O dawn of the east, brightness of light eternal, and sun of justice: come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O Clavis David - December 20

O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel, who opens and no human shuts, who shuts and no human opens: come, and bring forth the captives from their prison, they who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

 

O Radix Jesse - December 19

O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.

 

O Adonai - December 18

 O Lord and Ruler the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: come, and redeem us with outstretched arms.

 

Friday Five: Christmases Past

A simple Five from Jan: 

Tell us about five Christmas memories you have.

1) I think my earliest Christmas memory is Christmas Eve, of Bill, Sarah, Nancy and me all wearing pajamas and sitting on the living room floor in front of the Christmas tree.  There's a picture of all of us grinning at the camera like monkeys...I was about four, I think.  What I remember aside from the picture is Bill giggling with glee, holding his feet and rolling on his back like a hoop, and saying "SandyClaws is coming tonight!"

2) My dining room table.  I'm not sure when my mother took ownership of that furniture, but it was before I can remember.  It and the chairs were built by my great-grandfather;  it's a gorgeous piece and I love it.Today while wrapping some gifts, I realized that this dining table is the only place I remember wrapping gifts throughout my childhood and until I left home...and then it came to live with me about 6 years ago. I imagine my mom continued to use it for that in the interim years.  Think of all the years of wrapping that entails...all the gifts bought with love and excitement and anticipation. 

3) My younger sister got married in May of 1989, and that year she and her new husband didn't come to our home for Christmas.  I can't remember what they did, actually, but I do remember that Nancy's absence left a ragged hole in what had been our family of four.  It is natural, it is life, it is what happens...but I remember a sense of loss and confusion on that Christmas morning.  (you makin' me cry)...

4) My "best Christmas presents ever"

Josie, 2002

Boudreaux, 2005

These two dogs have introduced me to what it means to love a canine.  I can't imagine my life without them.  When we went to pick up Josie on Christmas Eve, she was SO tiny.  Brandon wanted to hold her (in the backseat) and I let him.  He whispered to her all the way home from East Texas where we'd gone to meet the breeder.  That night, I put her in a crate by my bed, determined! to crate train that dog from the beginning!  Yeah, right.  She cried for a few minutes and I brought her into bed with us. 

At about 3 am, Brandon came knocking at our door!  Ken said, "what do you want?"  Brandon said, "It's Christmas!"  Ken said, "It's too early!  Go back to bed!"  Brandon said, "But I want to see the puppy!"  Well, so he came and got in bed with us (one of the only times) and all four of us slept together the rest of that night.  When he woke up, Ken went poking around in the bed to make sure neither of us had rolled over on the dog...but she was fine! 

5) No list of Christmas memories could be complete without Christmas Eve services at church (every, every, every year), and singing in the choir.  Once we were in junior high school and beyond, we always went to midnight Masses.  Beautiful...darkened sanctuary, and the light spreading from candle to candle as "Silent Night" is sung. 

6) Just one more!  My mom had a record album called "Organ and Chimes by Robert Rheims" and the record is RED, oh my gosh, it was the coolest thing ever.  I loved putting that on my mom's stereo and listening to it...so cool.  I need to get it copied to CD or mp3 format because I haven't been able to listen to it in years.  You can buy the one pictured below on Etsy, if you would like...

 Merry Christmas Past and Present!  Veni, veni Emmanuel.

O Sapientia - December 17

O Wisdom, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: come, and teach us the way of prudence.

 

 

 

The O Antiphons

From Fr. Z's Rather Old "O Antiphon" Page

The O Antiphons developed during the Church's very first centuries. The writer Boethius (+525) mentions them. By the 8th century they were in use in Rome. There are seven of these special antiphons, and their texts spring from the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures, the Prophetic and Wisdom Books. They are found in the Liturgy of the Hours or older Roman Breviary, which clerics, religious, consecrated virgins, and others use for daily prayer.

The O Antiphons are short prayers sung before and after the Magnificat, the great prayer of Mary in Luke 1:46-55 when coming visit to Elizabeth her cousin the Virgin praised God for His favor wondrous deeds. The Magnificat is sung during Vespers, evening prayer. The O Antiphons begin on 17 December, seven days before the Vigil of Christmas (24 December). The seventh and last antiphon is sung at Vespers on 23 December. They are called the "O Antiphons" because they all begin with the letter-word "O": they address Jesus by one of His Old Testament titles.  They are fervent prayers asking Our Lord to come to us.

Advent is about the many ways in which the Lord comes.  He came historically at Bethlehem in the fullness of time. In the liturgical year he comes to us sacramentally.  He will come again at the end of the world as Judge of the living and the dead.  Christ comes to us also in the two-fold consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ by the priest at Holy Mass and, in a special way in a good Holy Communion.  He comes in the person of the priest, who is alter Christus, another Christ.  He comes in the words of Holy Scripture. He also comes in the person of our neighbor, especially those who are in need of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. 

During Advent, John the Baptist has been reminding us in the liturgy to "make straight His paths". When we come to the Lord in death, or He comes to us in His Second Coming, He will make straight the path whether we have during our earthly lives done our best to straighten it ahead of time or not. Let us now, while we may, make straight the paths by which Christ Jesus comes.

Here are two more interesting notes about these O Antiphons.

The first is not apparent in English, but it can be seen clearly in the official language of the Roman Catholic Church: Latin. The Latin versions of each of the titles of the Messiah are: Sapientia (Wisdom), Adonai (Lord), Radix (Root), Clavis (Key), Oriens (Dawn), Rex (King), and Emmanuel (Emmanuel).  Take the first letters of each of the titles, starting with the last and working back to the first. You spell: EROCRAS or "ero cras... I will be (there) tomorrow".

The song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is simply a reworking of the seven O Antiphons. When you sing it, you are joining yourself to a vast throng of Christians stretching back across centuries and spanning the whole of the earth who prayed as all Christians do, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20)

Each day's post that follows on my blog includes the printed music for the chant for the day.  You can hear the tunes by clicking on the mp3 link for that day at Fr. Z's site. 

Friday Five: December Survival Guide

Thanks to kathrynzj for this Friday Five at RGBP:  

Whether a RevGal or a Pal most of us in this cyber community have enhanced responsibilities during this time of year. We also have traditions - religious and secular - that mark the season for us in a more personal way.

For this Friday Five please let us know five of the things that mark the season for you.

And the bonus? Tell us one thing that does absolutely nothing for you.

A retrospective sense of my life.  I think back to past Christmases...as a child, as a young adult going home to my parents'; the first Christmas I spent away from home; Christmases at the beach when my parents lived there; and then Christmases with Ken and Brandon...from the years when we struggled to put together toys at midnight and the year we got Josie the Wonder Dog at Christmas...through to now...and wonder what the years to come will bring.  

Families lighting the Advent wreath in church services...

Lessons and Carols service...

Chilly or even cold weather and cooking the foods that go with it.  This year, it's Amy Lin's Hot & Sour Soup.  

Salvation Army kettles...I always put in something.  

Bonus:  Okay, I'm not trying to be anti-commercial, but shopping does not excite me.  This is not special for Christmas time...it's all the time.  

O Root of Jesse

I first saw this image at the RevGalBlogPals' Tuesday Lectionary Leanings post.  LutheranChik had put it up to illustrate the lectionary for Advent 2A, and I was captivated by it. 

She kindly gave me the citation for it:  "O Root of Jesse" by Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ. 

From the site:  Catherine G. Murphy Gallery:   

Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ, studied with Ade Bethune, but her own work moves in a different direction.  Her color-saturated works are more reminiscent of folk art than conventional religious images.  She does not create for a liturgical purpose; rather, her art results from her own spiritual journey and life changes.  Her interpretations of themes are not fixed in the manner of Icons, but ever changing through time.  About her O Antiphons, she says she would do things differently today—she no longer agrees with the ideas she brought to their creation.

Interesting, and I'd like to know more about the last sentence....I'll be looking into this artist.  In the meantime...I love the look and color of this, and the message that we are all built of those who came before us; the great cloud of witnesses.  In particular, I love the bottom figures, wrapped in grave cloths.  At first glance, I thought, "Are those GRUBS!?"  and, while really not, they also sort of are.  Bodies in a different form.  Pupae that transmogrify, through descendants, into those who come after them. 

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept."  (1 Cor 15:20)