Friday, December 21, 2012

Visitation

O Oriens
O Rising Dawn
Radiance of eternal lightAnd Sun of Justice--
Come, enlighten those sitting in darkness
And in the shadow of death.

This is my favorite of the O Antiphons. I don't know why people don't want to be called Oriental because to me, it's a word full of mystery and beauty and Asian just sounds like a blob on a map.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today's gospel was the Visitation, "Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

The Virgin, weighed
with the Word of God,
comes down the road:
if only you'll shelter her.

Christmas Refrain, St. John of the Cross

AMDG.


5 comments:

  1. Yes, it's my favorite, too. I love all those words: Daystar, Dayspring, etc. And "Oriens" just is a beautiful word to say or sing.

    I've had laryngitis all week, in the wake of our Advent Lessons & Carols last Sunday, so we haven't been singing the verses, which I really really miss.

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  2. This one is my favorite, too. :)

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  3. I hate it when I can't sing. Hope you get better.

    AMDG

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  4. "weighed with the Word of God"--what a great phrase. "That's so heavy" sprang to mind, which made me chuckle, but it's true.

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  5. That is a great phrase, but I was stuck on "weighed" because I read it as being burdened.

    Did some googling and found this at Wikipedia under "Glory":

    "Glory" is one of the most common words in scripture. In the Old Testament, the word is used to translate several Hebrew words, including Hod (הוד) and kabod; and in the New Testament it is used to translate the Greek word doxa (δόξα). The Hebrew word kabod (K-B-D) originally means "weight" or "heaviness." The same word is then used to express importance, honor, and majesty.

    That must be the meaning here.

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