‘If only you knew the gift of God’, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well. He then revealed himself as that gift. Christmas is about gifts, gift-giving and gift-receiving, and about enjoying the gifts because we know they are given, and received, in love. The greatest gift of all is the Son of […]
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, expectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine Deus noster. O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the One for whom the gentiles longed and their Saviour, come and save us, O Lord our God! We come to the last and one of the shortest of the O […]
O Rex gentium et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum, veni et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti. ‘King of the nations and their desire, cornerstone, who make both one, come and save man, whom you formed from mud.’ Throughout Advent we have been focussing on the One who is coming, Jesus Christ, […]
O Oriens, Splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitiae: VENI, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis. ‘O Rising Sun, Splendour of eternal light and sun of justice: COME, shine on those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death’. ‘…The heart will save, when the dawn will appear with the splendour of the first […]
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis et nemo aperit: veni et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis. O Key of David and Sceptre of the House of Israel! You open and no one can shut. You shut and no one can open: Come […]
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: Veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare. O root of Jesse, you stand as a sign for the nations; kings fall silent before you whom the peoples acclaim. O come to deliver us and do not delay. Today, […]
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti et in Sina legem dedisti, veni ad redimendu nos in brachio extento. O Adonai and leader of Israel, […]
During this last week of Advent our spiritual preparations for Christmas intensify and include praying at Vespers the Great ‘O’ antiphons for the Magnificat. These are ancient Gregorian chants which capture something of our desire for the coming of Christ. Members of the community will be sharing reflections on each ‘O’ antiphon, beginning on 17th […]
Winter is here. Last summer, while the trees were green, the flowers in our meadow were fragrant and the grass was long, a wise man visited us. He spoke of the changing seasons, each season having its own comforts, its own challenges. “In winter”, he said, “the trees are bare and clouds cover the sky”. […]
Light-bearing Christ, come down to us And light in darkness sow; Come down and save our fallen world Whose sinful ways you know. Prepare us for your grace and truth Who watch and wait for you; Restore mankind’s lost dignity: Come down and make us new. Almighty Father, speak the Word Your children long to […]
The Feast of Christ the King was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, with the intention of promoting peace, and as an antidote for the rebellion of both individual people and whole states against the authority of Christ. In the aftermath of the suffering of the First World War, Pius XI saw this as […]
Every season is beautiful here on the southern edge of the North York Moors, and although the seasons are not as distinct or predictable as in the past, autumn remains spectacular, probably because our location is so wooded. However, this year’s unseasonably mild autumn injected a note of reflective questioning into the poem which follows, […]