With no Saints to honor today, we turn to our O Antiphon for the day. In Latin, the text is “O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.” In English, the translation is “O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.” Isaiah had prophesied (Isaiah 11:4-5): “[…] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins,” and (Isaiah 33:22) “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us.” Today is also the third and last of three Ember Days for this season of the year. Ember days (corruption from Lat. Quatuor Tempora, four times) are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after December 13 (St. Lucy), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday (Pentecost), and after September 14 (Exaltation of the Cross). The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. And today is the day when my son Matthew and his fiancé Callie become a wedded couple through the Sacrament of Matrimony. Continue reading “Daily Update: December 18, 2010”
From The Recamier 