A liturgical thought for today, 19th December, the Monday before Christmas day.

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“O stock of Jesse, who stand as a sign for the nations; before whom kings fall silent; whom the peoples acclaim – come come to deliver us, do not delay any more.”
Born into humble circumstances, Jesus is nevertheless a descendant of David and his father Jesse. The family has long lost its royal glory in the eyes of the world, but still it stands as the hinge of salvation history.
As Isaiah says: “A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots. That day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples. It will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.”
This is the third of the seven ancient antiphons at Vespers that count down the days to Christmas. Nothing stands in the way of these antiphons: compared to them, even Sundays have no antiphon of their own.

In this week, Catholic liturgy reflects on Christ's first advent and its relationship to his second advent, which is yet to come.

The Lord is at hand: come, let us adore him.

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the God who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.

A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his.
To him belongs the sea, for he made it
and the dry land shaped by his hands.

Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.

For forty years I was wearied of these people
and I said: “Their hearts are astray,
these people do not know my ways.”
Then I took an oath in my anger:
“Never shall they enter my rest.”’

Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

The Lord is at hand: come, let us adore him.
 
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