Texas OP Nuns

O Radiant Dawn!

(tune: O come, O come, Emmanuel)

O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer

Our spirits by thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death\’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

“Light from Light, true God from true God.” We recite these words every Sunday in the Creed. God is light. Light was the first thing He created according to Genesis 1. Most (though not all) creatures need light to live. Light is compared to truth; living in the light is also living in the truth.

Christ is the Light of the world, the “dawn from on high.” From earliest times, Christians have turned towards the East to pray. Christ is the Dayspring, the rising sun who dawns upon us from on high “to give light to those in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:9). The eastward orientation of churches and altars is a way of expressing the great cry of every Eucharist: “Let us lift up our hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.”

Let us live with our gaze fixed on God

within the communion of saints.

Amen.

O Key of David!

(tune: O come, O come, Emmanuel)

O come, Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

The Lord offers to lead us out of the darkness of our narrow minds, if we will but desire it. We don’t have to make long speeches to God. One word is enough, “Yes.” The mystery of the Annunciation, which is the Gospel for today is essentially, that one word, “Yes,” fiat. As Dante would tell us, the Love that moves the sun and stars waits for our response of a loving, trusting “Yes.”

On the shoulder of Christ was placed the key of the Cross, the key that opens what no mortal can open, and that closes what no mortal can close. In the image of a great key placed on His shoulder, we recognize the figure of the Cross placed on the shoulder of Christ, the key by which heaven is opened and hell vanquished. The way of peace is the way opened before us by the Cross-bearing Christ. Christ, with the key of the Cross, opens the door before us.

Lord, we give you the key to our hearts.

Unite our hearts to Your Sacred Heart.

Amen.

O Root of Jesse, Come!

(tune: O come, O come, Emmanuel)

O come, O Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan\’s tyranny,

From depths of hell thy people save,

And give them victory o\’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! O Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

This is the Child whom kings long to see, and perhaps compare to themselves. He is as fragile as a tiny shoot growing toward the sun, yet no one is as powerful as He. His frailty and power flow from His love. This image comes from Isaiah 11:1 and the next 2 verses list for us the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Jesus and the Spirit are always One, together with the Father.

The frail shoot, root, stem, rod, will grow into a standard before which the world and kings tremble, but in which Christians find strength and comfort; for the standard/banner of Christ is the Cross. The Root of Jesse announces that the advent of the Son is focused on the mission of Redemption that He will accomplish on the Tree of the Cross. Jesus reigns over the universe from the throne of the Cross.

Come, Lord, grow in our hearts that we bow down in worship to You.

Amen.

O Lord, Come!

(tune of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel)

O come, O come thou Lord of Might,

Who to thy Tribes, on Sinai’s height,

In ancient times didst give the law

In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to the, O Israel!

Lord God, you appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai and gave him the Law to lead Your people into spiritual freedom. But they did not have the inner power of the Spirit to fulfill it. Lord, reveal Your Name to us that we may really know You in a deep and intimate way.

Come O Lord, and place Your law, Your will, Your Holy Spirit, within our hearts. Amen

O Wisdom, Come!

O SAPIENTIA (Wisdom)

(tune of O come, O come, Emmanuel)

O come, O Wisdom from on high,

Who orderest all things mightily,

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to the, O Israel!

Jesus can truly be called the Wisdom of God. As the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Christ, the God-Man, is also called the Word of God. As the Word of the Father, Jesus reveals to us the inner thoughts and will of the Father, and these thoughts and desires are divinely wise. To know Jesus is to know Wisdom. To grow close to Jesus is to grow in wisdom. The Gospel According to John emphasizes Christ as the Word, the Logos of God: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God.

The Document on the Liturgy from Vatican Council II says that in the Liturgy, Christ is present in the ministers, the priest and deacon; He is present in the congregation, the assembled believers who make up the Body of Christ; He is present in the Word of God when it is proclaimed in the assembly. The Word of God—Scripture and Christ—bring us the Wisdom of God so that we might live holy lives. Jesus comes to us to show us the way to salvation, but during this Advent season He wants to reveal this saving way in greater and deeper detail. In the Liturgy, we partake of the Wisdom of the Word and of the Eucharist, Wisdom incarnate.

Come, Lord, open our hearts and minds to Your Wisdom. Amen.

The Last Days of Advent

We are coming to the end of Advent. Today we begin our special Christmas Novena for all our friends and benefactors (that includes all of you who read this post). In addition to our specially sung Masses, we have prayers throughout the day, concluding on Christmas Eve. May we all long and yearn for a deeper relationship with our Lord.

Tomorrow we begin the beloved and ancient O Antiphons which date back to the 7th century. The antiphons are sung at the Alleluia of the Mass and as the Antiphon for the Magnificat during Vespers. The are composed of ancient titles of the Messiah, rich in Scriptural meaning.
As Lent has Holy Week, so Advent has this last week of special prayers and readings that we might enter in more deeply into the mysteries of Christ\’s mission.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the beautiful Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is also the feast day of our prioress, Sister Maria Guadalupe, originally from Mexico City. Our two other Mexican Sisters made a special breakfast for us in honor of the Morena: Bunuelos and Champurrada (fried pastry and thick hot chocolate with cinnamon).

We would also like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to join us (physically or spiritually) to our 800 Dominican Jubilee Holy Hour on Sunday, December 18 at 19:00 (7 pm). Our Chaplain, Fr. Marcos Ramos, OP, will preside. It will be a Holy Hour for Vocations including, the Holy Rosary with special meditations, Compline and Benediction. All are invited to join us.