FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Collect

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation,
that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Psalm 84:1-6

How lovely is your dwelling place,
   O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
   for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
   to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
   my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
   ever singing your praise.
          Selah

Happy are those whose strength is in you,
   in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
   they make it a place of springs;
   the early rain also covers it with pools.

O ORIENS

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford.

December 21

O Oriens, splendor lucis æternæ, et sol justitiæ:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light,
Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.

Text from Fish Eaters

O CLAVIS DAVID

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford.

December 20

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,
that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth,
come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

Isaiah 22:22

I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David;
he shall open, and no one shall shut;
he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Text of antiphon from Fish Eaters.

Prayer for Mission

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Reposted from last year, and the year before and....  The O Antiphons are now a tradition at Wounded Bird.

O RADIX JESSE

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford.

December 19

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, which standest for an ensign of the people,
at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths,
Whom the Gentiles shall seek,
come to deliver us, do not tarry.

Isaiah 11:1, 11:10

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
....

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Text from Fish Eaters.

Reposted from last year, the year before, and the year before...as a tradition.

BLESSINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS, RICHARD AND RICARDO

Just to be clear, I knew Richard before he was famous, or, as certain bishops in the Church of England would say, infamous. He and Ricardo look so very happy following the conversion of their civil partnership into marriage.

Mr Haggis believes that his struggle to find employment in the Church is entirely attributable to his decision to write an article for The Guardian in 2005, in which he criticised the Bishops' stance on same-sex relationships among the clergy: specifically, the questions to be asked of those entering civil partnerships. He has suffered a "very long period of depression", but has found solace in celebrating at Fairacres Convent, in Oxford.

Richard and I became Facebook friends through mutual friends some time ago. Last year, when I visited England, I met Richard, who had helped me arrange to stay in a guest room in Christ Church College, Oxford. During my stay of several days in the city, he very kindly showed me around Christ Church College and around the city of Oxford. Since I am, as they say, une femme d'un certain âge, he paced our explorations within the limits of my energy and ability in a most gracious manner. To this day, I remain grateful to him and credit him for my most pleasant stay in the city. 

My friend misses his priestly ministry immensely, and it breaks my heart that the church refuses to allow him to use his pastoral and preaching gifts in active ministry. It is very much the church's loss.

Bishop Alan Wilson is greatly to be admired for his courage in speaking up for justice and compassion, and I am proud to call him friend. He is the model of a pastoral bishop.

O ADONAI

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford.

December 18

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.


O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel,
Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush,
and gavest him the law in Sinai,
come to redeem us with an outstretched arm!

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.

Text of the antiphon from Fish Eaters.

Reposted from last year, the year before...as a tradition.

O SAPIENTIA

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford.

December 17

O Wisdom that comest out of the mouth of the Most High,
that reachest from one end to another,
and orderest all things mightily and sweetly,
come to teach us the way of prudence!

O Sapientia, quæ ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter
suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiæ.

____________________

Isaiah 11:2-3

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;

__________________

In the Sarum [Anglican] use, all eight antiphons are used, beginning on December 16 and ending on the 23, leading up to the First Mass of Christmas, the Eve of December 24. In the Roman use, the observance begins on December 17, but only the first seven antiphons are used, and the observance ends, as with the Sarum use, on December 23.

Reposted with slight editing from last year, and the year before, and...and....  The reposts are a Wounded Bird tradition. Though the year is not 2006, the O Antiphons are timeless.

Text of the antiphon from Fish Eaters.

THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Collect

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come
among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver
us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and
the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Another wonderful passage from Isaiah in today's lessons:

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

(Isaiah 61:1-4)

MARIE LAVEAU AND THIBODAUX

A group of women who restored a 19th century Voodoo queen's tomb are now working in a Thibodaux cemetery.

Employees of the New Orleans-based Bayou Preservation will be at St. John's Episcopal Cemetery off of Jackson Street on Saturday. They said this will be their fourth visit since the church hired them to restore some of the tombs, some of which are 100 years or older.

That's our cemetery, next to St John's Episcopal Church.  St. John's is not just the burial spot for members of our church but, for many years, was and is known as the Protestant cemetery for the Thibodaux area. Older tombs are falling apart, and are now being restored through the restoration project, which began several years ago and continues now as funds are available.

The cloud of witnesses in the cemetery is filled with peaceful spirits, and it's a lovely spot to meditate. On a day of prayer and quiet time St John's, I spent the breaks for time alone for contemplation in the cemetery, but I was not really alone.

TORTURE REPORT

From the findings and conclusions of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence aka as the Torture Report. I've read only 40 or so of 525 pages, but below are a couple of snippets about actions taken by those in the highest levels of the White House.

A year after being briefed on the program, the House and Senate Conference Committee considering the Fiscal Year 2008 Intelligence Authorization bill voted to limit the CIA to using only interrogation techniques authorized by the Army Field Manual. That legislation was approved by the Senate and House of Representatives in February 2008, and was vetoed by President Bush on March 8, 2008. (p. 13)
....

At the direction of the White House, the secretaries of state and defense - both principals on the National Security Council - were not briefed on program specifics until September 2003. An internal CIA email from Junly 2003 noted that "...the WH (White House) is extremely concerned [Secretary] Powell would blow his stack if he were to be briefed on what's been going on." Deputy Secretary Armitage complained that he and Secretary Powell were "cut out" of the National Seccurity Council coordination process. (pp. 13-14)

As for what I've read of actual torture techniques, the details made me sick, and I know there is much more and worse to come. I seriously doubt I will read the entire report, but I'll read as much as I can stand.  The CIA was a rogue agency, but the rogues in the White House gave them permission.

President Obama issued an Executive Order directing the CIA to use only the interrogation techniques authorized in the Army Field Manual, but the order could be reversed by the next president. There needs to be a law.

Here's the link to the text of the report.

From the Faux News way back machine - George W Bush:

This government does not torture people. We stick to US law and our international obligations.

Did Bush say one word that was true? If he did, I missed it.