Welcoming the
Christ Child
into our
Fractured World

Most of the people I know - people who genuinely wish to spiritually welcome the newborn Jesus into their lives at Christmas - find themselves struggling to go to a place within, a place free of the demands, the craziness, the media assault, and the violence around us.

 

This poem written by the monk Thomas Merton over 50 years ago offers all of us some encouragement and comfort.

An Advent Song

Into this world, this demented inn,
in which there is absolutely no room
for Him. Christ has come uninvited.

He comes...
to the crisis before breakfast
the unexpected at dinner
in between the cranky toddler
and the exasperating senior citizen

when fatigue blights our day
worry disturbs our night
disappointment saps our strength
defeat destroys our hope...

into this demented inn
Jesus comes
and though uninvited..
stays.

Do check out our new

community website

RedNuns.org

Our Community Christmas Letter

From Your Redemptoristine

Sisters

Advent 2011

We come to you this Advent in the posture of Naomi and Ruth, Mary and Joseph: standing together at the crossroads journeying to a new home: Bethlehem.

Both couples were living in a time of mystery.  Naomi, a widow, decided to return to her native land, Bethlehem, and her daughter-in-law Ruth joins her saying, “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”  And it can be imagined that as Mary and Joseph journeyed together in a time of expectant wonder to be registered in Bethlehem they said similar words to each other.    And we, Redemptoristines in Esopus, echo that sentiment.  

We began the New Year with a visit from the new Redemptorist Provincial of the Baltimore Province, Rev. Kevin Moley and his Council. They came to inform us about the decision made by their Chapter to end Redemptorist ministries at Mount St. Alphonsus in Esopus come January of 2012.  This startling news held ramifications for us as we were told the whole property would be leased out and we would have to move to a new location next Spring.    Thus our search began.

Along the way we have been helped by many generous people with advice and leads to houses and convents in the Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts area.  We even looked into a place in West Virginia!  Most of the places we visited, either on the Internet or in person, were not suitable for a monastery.  Most old convents sit on small plots of land overshadowed by other buildings.  They tend to be in disrepair and in need of renovation to permit our sisters to age gracefully within the monastery and for all of us to live fully our contemplative life. And even the luxury houses we investigated did not have the right configuration for a chapel, bedrooms, workspace, library, community room and offices, not to mention that they were outside our financial resources.  

We do have hope and faith, expectant wonder, trusting that God is journeying with us in some mysterious way to our new home; a monastery where we can continue to live together our life of adoration, praise and intercession. 

This has been a bittersweet year of last times: the last time for the celebration of our Triduum in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in this monastery; the last barbeque on the patio, the last beautiful autumn colors on the trees of this magnificent property, the last stroll down to the Hudson River, the last celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas…  

Other news:

We were blessed to be able to care for our Sr. Peg at home, with the help of the wonderful people of Hospice, during her final months.  Sister died peacefully on February 21, 2011, with the community surrounding her with love and prayers.  

We participated in three programs of the Metropolitan Association of Contemplative Communities this year: The Effects of Modern Technology on Contemplative Religious Life with Sr. Lynn Levo, CSJ; The Implementation of the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal: A Moment of Recognitio! with Sr. Sandra DeMasi, SSJ and Msgr. Richard Groncki; and Women Working for Peace with United Nations NGO Sr. Margaret Mayce, OP.

Our fifteen lay Associates met regularly on the second Sunday of the month for input concerning our charism, to deepen their prayer life and support one another in order to follow the way of Jesus, making the redeeming love of God present in their daily lives.

We were blessed to have Fr. Ronald McAinsh, CSsR Provincial from the London Province, as our Retreat Director. His timely reflections were on “Transitions: Physical, Generational, Emotional and Spiritual.” 

We mourn the loss this year of Redemptorist Fr. Joseph Opptiz who made our foundress known throughout the world with his book, The Mystic Who Remembered: The Life and Message of Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa OSsR.  We published this popular book a number of years ago and next year we plan to publish a third run.  

On December 7, 1957 six Redemptoristines came from Canada to begin the first foundation of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer in the United States in Esopus.  This December 7^th, to celebrate our 54^th year we invite the local religious and lay Associates for a Vigil Service for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, as a way of thanking them for their friendship and prayerful support throughout the years. 

As we journey through this time of Advent, and as our Christmas gift, you and your loved ones will have a special remembrance in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass December 16^th to 24^th during our Novena before Christmas.   On those evenings after Vespers we extinguish all the lights and pray by the glow of the Advent wreath for your intentions with these words:

‘Adore, oh my soul, in the bosom of Mary,

the only begotten Son of God,

who became man for love of you.’

In the coming months, when we have made our definitive plans, we will let you know our new address and contact information.  In the meantime, if you wish to make a donation to help us in the moving process and making our new monastery handicapped accessible, we would greatly appreciate your gift.

May the Prince of Peace be your companion on the journey of life,

and grant you joy and blessings now and always,  

Love and prayers, Your Redemptoristine Sisters

Redemptoristine Nuns of New York

P.O. Box 220

Esopus, New York 12429-0220

845-384-6533

RedNuns.Esopus@gmail.com

http://www.redemptoristinenunsofnewyork.org/

Blog: www.MonasticMusingsOSsR.blogspot.com

Sisters Moira, Mary Anne, Maria Linda, Mary Jane,

Paula, Mary, Maria Paz, Lydia, Hildegard

Prepare the Way of the Lord

Jesse Tree
Frater Max Schmalzl, CSsR
1850 - 1930

Second Sunday of Advent

A voice cries out in the wilderness,

"Prepare the way of the Lord." In what direction do our preparations move forward? Do they keep us on the surface, just floating on a choppy sea pushing us from one chore after another, from item to another on an ever growing list of 'to dos'? Here is a prayer from Henri Nouwen which may add a couple of stabilizing pontoons to your  fragile vessel bobbing its way through the season.

Lord Jesus,

     Master of both the light and the darkness,

       send your Holy Spirit upon our preaprations

       for Christmas.

We who have so much to do

      seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.

We who are anxious over many things

      look forward to your coming among us.

We who are blessed in so many ways

      long for the complete joy of your kingsdom.

We whose hearts are heavy

      seek the joy of your presence.

We are your people, walking in darkness,

      yet seeking the light.

To you we say, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

      Amen.

                Henri J.M. Nouwen 1932-1996

Advent Season Begins

Feast of St. Andrew
Start of a Christmas Novena

Now that we are well into tripping our way through Mass with the Roman Missal, Third Edition, we can move on. But before we do, why don't yopu take a bit of time to post a comment about how the adjustment to the New Roman Missal is going in your parish or how it feels to you. Just click on the word "comments" below and go for it.

We can now look toward orienting ourselves to the Advent journey. This is the mystery of Mary's "Yes" to the angel Gabriel and Jesus' "Yes" to the desire of the Father that the second person of the Blessed Trinity should become incarnate in human flesh, should enter into our human condition.

Today is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and the tradition day to start a Christmas prayer practice. I weas introduced to this as a high school student be the good sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, NY at Fontbonne Hall Academy. A little card I have saved through the years bears the 1897 imprimatur of Michael Augustine, Archbishop  of New York.

Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment

in which the Son of God was born

of the most pure Virgin Mary,

at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.

In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer

and grant my petition

through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ,

and of His Blessed Mother.

Amen.

This prayer is to be said 15 times a day beginning today and ending on Christmas day. Perfect for the intention dearest to your heart at this time.

The Advent Season Progresses

Illustration of O Antiphon for December 17
by Sr. Moira Quinn

If one looks at the layout of the Liturgical Year of the Church from the viewpoint of a  film maker or stage director one must admire the keen sense of drama, the slow yet pointed build up to the major feasts of Christmas and Easter. The growing dramatic intensity appears in each of the public forms of official worship, that is the Eucharistic Liturgy and the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office. Unfortunately, most Catholics never experience the Liturgy of the Hours except if they should attend Tenebrae services in their local parish during Holy Week or visit a monastery.  Communities of contemplative nuns are very aware of the unfolding drama because they are immersed in the Liturgy of Hours and all its fine details five or six times a day.

Today we begin a series of these dramatic additions, known as the Great 'O' Antiphons. From now until Christmas we will sing them along with the canticle at Vespers (Evening Prayer) which is Mary's Magnificat, her great prayer of praise at the moment of the Annunciation.

The Redemptoristine Monastery in Dublin, Ireland has posted a You Tube video of tomorrow's O Antiphon. 

The following is a complete explanation of the meaning of the 'O" Antiphons written by our subprioress, Sr. Moria Quinn.

Jewels of Advent - The Great O Antiphons

Advent is the most beautiful of liturgical seasons. It is a time of watching and preparing, of hopeful expectation and joyful anticipation. Advent is the season where we ponder the comings of Christ. The Mass readings of Advent begin with the Second Coming of Christ to earth, the Parousia. The word Parousia means ‘to be present.’ Isn’t that what Advent is about? To be present to the mystery of God: past, present and future. We remember with our ancestors of the past their longing for the coming of the Messiah. We rejoice and celebrate Jesus’ incarnation, his coming in the flesh 2000 years ago. In the present, we recognize Jesus, our Messiah, in our midst in the here and now where he is gracing us in every facet of our lives as we look to our reward at his ‘Second Coming.’

If you follow the daily readings at Mass during Advent you find they are filled with much imagery. Last year, it got to the point that I felt inspired to illustrate the Great O Antiphons.

Some of you may be scratching your head and saying, ‘The Great what?’ You know them, or at least one of them, by heart, ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel… ’ It is probably the most beloved of all Advent hymns. In the monastery, for the final preparation before the coming of Christmas, we sing the ‘Jewels of Advent,’ the last 7 nights before Christmas Eve. For those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours the Great O’s are sung during Evening Prayer just before the Magnificat beginning December 17 and then continue for the next 6 days with a different ‘O’ sung every night until December 23. They are also sung, or said, at the Gospel Alleluia at Mass during that time.

The exact origin of the ‘O Antiphons’ is not known. Boethius (480–524/5) a Christian philosopher in 6th century Rome made a slight reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence at that time. During the next century at the monastery of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire of Fleury in central France, these antiphons were recited by the abbot and other abbey leaders in descending rank, and then a gift was given to each member of the community. By the eighth century, they were in wide use in the liturgical celebrations in Rome. The hymn, ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel,’ dates back to the 9th century.

The original O Antiphons, of course, were in Latin. But over the years there have been many translations.

• December 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)

• December 18: O Adonai (O Lord)

• December 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)

• December 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)

• December 21: O Oriens (O Morning Star)

• December 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)

• December 23: O Emmanuel (O Emmanuel)

Whoever put together all the Latin Antiphons was having a good time because if you take the first letter of each invocation, then read it backwards, it forms an acrostic in Latin: ERO CRAS. This can be understood as the words of Christ, responding to his people's plea, “Tomorrow I will come."

You may say, ‘Wait a minute. Christmas is on the 25th not the 24th. Why end on the 23rd ?’ True enough, but thanks to the tradition handed down to us by our Jewish ancestors in the faith, we begin the liturgical day at sundown. So, the evening of the 23rd is Christmas Eve, and as a result, therefore, the Christmas liturgy begins at Evening Prayer on the 24th . I know it sounds confusing but that is the way it is.

To add to the mix, an alternative English medieval practice arose of moving all of the antiphons forward by one day so they began on December 16th. They added an antiphon involving Mary to the end on the 23rd.

O Virgo Virginum…

O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be?

For neither before you, or after shall be.

Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel at me?

The thing you behold is divine mystery.

So they took the ‘V’ from O Virgo and added it to the acrostic so it became Vero Cras, "Truly, tomorrow."

This additional antiphon was only eliminated from the Church of England liturgy in the year 2000, thereby restoring the Great O Antiphons to their original form.

The O Antiphons are all scripture based, at least they are alluded to somewhere in the Jewish Testament. Each Antiphon has three parts:

◊ They all begin with an exclamation of a Messianic title: O Wisdom, O Root of Jesse, O Morning Star….

◊ They are followed by an attribute, a description of the power of God: Giver of Law, Sign of God’s Love, Source of Life, Promised Savior….

◊ And then conclude with an invocation to Come and: Come and teach us, Come and open the way, Come and Redeem us, Come and set us free…

Did you know the name Jesus, Jehoshua, means in Hebrew ‘Jehovah saves or sets free’? That is the underlying theme of all the O’ Antiphons: our longing for God to set us free.

In many cultures, to know the name of another gives you power over that person. Think of the power we have in knowing, in our limited way, some of the names for the ineffable God; and the awareness of some of the attributes of our incomprehensible God. Because of this power, we dare to cry out, to demand that God come to our aid to open our hearts and teach us, to hurry up and unite us to God’s self, to redeem us and set us free.

Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

Last year I posted each day's antiphon with Sr. Moira's drawings. Just click on the word "Advent" in the index in the side par and you can see all of them.

'Tis the Season of Preparation

 A Christmas Novena  

Adore, oh my soul,

in the bosom of Mary,

the only-begotten Son of God

who was made man

for love of you.

Our Redemptoristine community of contemplative nuns will begin offering this novena Christmas prayer on December 16th. We say it at the close of the Office of Vespers (evening prayer). There will be no lights in chapel except those of the Advent wreath. Each sister will say the prayer out loud in turn, leaving a little meditative pause between each one. At the end we will all sing the Salve Regina. For each of us, offering this novena, in this way, is a very moving experience. In addition, it serves to focus our preparations for the feast of Christmas on our prayers for the needs of our world, the sick and suffering, the unemployed, those affected by wars and a myriad of other intentions as well as the individual prayer requests we receive regularly.

I was introduced to novenas as a little girl. Our parish church was almost directly across the street from my Brooklyn home. My aunt went to novena there every Tuesday evening and I would often accompany her. Many would gather in the Church summer or winter. Each person had a collection of little novena booklets ready for the prayers to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Our Mother of Perpetual Help and the Infant Jesus of Prague, one right after the other. Prayers ended with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, incense and all! I still have all of my little booklets.

The practice of saying special prayers for nine days before a special feast of the Liturgical Year has been part of Catholic culture for hundreds of years. The word 'novena' comes from the Latin for number nine.

There are many prayer practices in addition to the novena that are connected with Advent and Christmas in the Catholic tradition. More to come on that topic.

Many people, not only Catholics, use this prayer practice before the feast of their favorite saints. I like to privately pray a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, before her feast in October each year. In some cultures a novena of prayers is said in preparation for the anniversary of a special event or the death of a loved one.

Consider adding our simple Christmas Novena to your Advent Wreath Prayers with your family. If you haven't set up a wreath, why not begin your Christmas preparation on the 16th with these few words of adoration at the beginning or end of your dinner each night. In may make a big difference in the way you meet the great feast of the Incarnation when it comes.

               

Prepare the Way of the Lord

Egg tempera and gold leaf on gesso

"The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand"

Given the circumstances of their time, those who came to hear John the Baptist preach were eager for the prophetic word of their liberation, news of a Messiah who would rescue them from Roman oppression and restore self-rule. They thought that they knew what kind of Kingdom should be "at hand" and the changes that Kingdom would bring about in their lives. For many, these preconceived notions made it impossible for them to comprehend the Kingdom to which John was actually directing them. Their mindset prevented them from really listening to his message and from seeing it embodied in the person and preaching of Jesus of Nazareth. John's message and Jesus' radical invitation to the Kindgom of God in which peace and justice reigned supreme just did not compute.

John's voice cries out in the desert of my soul, a desert of my own making, limited by my own preconceptions and my own preferences. I know what the Kingdom should be. Do I really? How do I create my own "dry and weary land"? How do I pre-empt God by my own human limitations?

Is there a 'crookedness' in my thinking, my desires, my fixations which keeps me from seeing the 'Kingdom', the reign of goodness and truth preached by Jesus? Is there a 'Kingdom at hand' which 'eye has not seen and ear not heard' because I fail to allow God to be God and enter my life in ways I cannot now imagine?

Today I hear John speaking to me about opening the desert of my heart, expanding my imagination, being ready to receive what God has planned for me and for all of us out of an incomparable love.

"...Escape from your everyday business for a short while..."

Yesterday at the Office of Readings the second selection was chosen in honor of the saint of the day St. Francis Xavier, great Jesuit missionary to India and Japan in the 16th century. Had it not been his feast we would have heard one of the most beautiful readings of the Advent season, a selection from the Proslogion by St. Anselm,  12th century bishop of Canterbury. This is a message for all of us not just communities of contemplative nuns.

Insignificant mortal, escape from your everyday business for a short while, hide yourself, for a time, from your disturbing thoughts. Cast aside, now, your burdensome cares, and be less concerned about your tasks and labors. Yield room for some little time to God; and rest for a little time in him. Enter the inner chamber of your mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God, and such as can aid you in seeking him; close your door and seek him. Speak now, my whole heart! speak now to God, saying, I seek your face; your face, Lord, will I seek (Psalms xxvii. 8). And come you now, O Lord my God, teach my heart where and how it may seek you, where and how it may find you...

But alas! wretched that I am, one of the sons of Eve, far removed from God! What have I undertaken? What have I accomplished? Whither was I striving? How far have I come? To what did I aspire? Amid what thoughts am I sighing? I sought blessings, and lo! confusion. I strove toward God, and I stumbled on myself. I sought calm in privacy, and I found tribulation and grief, in my inmost thoughts. I wished to smile in the joy of my mind, and I am compelled to frown by the sorrow of my heart. Gladness was hoped for, and lo! a source of frequent sighs!

And you too, O Lord, how long? How long, O Lord, do you forget us; how long do you turn your face from us? When will you look upon us, and hear us? When will you enlighten our eyes, and show us your face? When will you restore yourself to us? Look upon us, Lord; hear us, enlighten us, reveal yourself to us. Restore yourself to us, that it may be well with us, --yourself, without whom it is so ill with us. Pity our toilings and strivings toward you since we can do nothing without you. You do invite us; do you help us. I beseech you, O Lord, that I may not lose hope in sighs, but may breathe anew in hope...

Lord, in hunger I began to seek you; I beseech you that I may not cease to hunger for you. In hunger I have come to you; let me not go unfed. I have come in poverty to the Rich, in misery to the Compassionate; let me not return empty and despised...

Be it mine to look up to your light, even from afar, even from the depths. Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me, when I seek you, for I cannot seek you, except you teach me, nor find you, except you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you and love you in finding you...

Perhaps there will a moment today for that desiring, that seeking, that loving. Remember, all of that flows both ways. God desires, seeks, and loves. Can we find the time to be at God's disposal?

The Season of Advent

Contrary to what has been bombarding us since Halloween, the tempo, the ambiance and the liturgies in the monastery do not yet speak of Christmas, the great Feast of the Incarnation. Rather, we remain contemplatively focused on this season of desire and longing, patient waiting and personal spiritual preparation.

Many years ago, in another life time, when I was the much harried working single mother of three young sons I had a dream during the lead up time to Christmas. In the dream I experienced great relief because I was reminded that it really wasn't Advent. It was Lent. In my sleep I was reaching out for the relief presented by the idea of it being the pentitential season of Lent rather than in the hectic and endlessly demanding crazy pre-Christmas season. That my unconscious created such a dream  was sad commentary on the degree to which I had allowed this time of the Liturgical year to be distorted in meaning and focus.

So we take it slow here. The Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) keeps moving in the right direction and at a nice slow place. We are inspired to be prepared for our salvation is at hand. We are asked to look and see and listen to the signs of the times. We are asked to make ready for the arrival of our God who comes to dwell among us; in the same nitty-gritty of our lives of joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, disappointment and achievement, success and failure, wins and losses. Truly, this is something to be fully prepared to receive when Christmas comes at the end of the month.

Come, Let Us Worship Him

Today, the last of the "O Antiphons" of the Advent Liturgy of the Hours uses the title "Emmanuel". The name Emmanuel means "God-with-us". We welcome the God who so loves humankind and all of creation, the God who choses to live with us and totally experience our humble condition. O, the wonder of the Incarnation! 

Our Sr. Moira Quinn created the images appearing here each of these last days. She explained the features of today's illumination. The hand is the hand of God with fingers parted as is the custom of a rabbi with hands raised in blessing over a congregation. The shape is like that of the "Y" in Yahweh. Two fingers bear a dove, sign of the Holy Spirit; two bear the tablets of the Ten Commandments; and the thumb has been fashioned into an image of Mother and the infant Jesus. The palm holds the Star of David - the lineage of Jesus. And on the wrist, a heart at the place where we commonly take our pulse, where we feel the ebb and flow of life within us. 

Scripture tells us that we are held in the palm of God's hand, a metaphor of the initimacy of God's love and presence with us. At Christmas we acknowledge this presence and welcome, yet again, our Incarnate God into our world.

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 7:14

                               Luke 1:69-70

                               Isaiah 32:22

                               Psalm 18:20

Drawing by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

The Lord is Close at Hand...

The day is drawing near. Yesterday, during the long drive home from the funeral of a Redemptoristine sister who died in Canada, we listened to a wonderful recording of Handel's "Messiah." The oratorio is narrated completely by the words of Holy Scripture. It is the story of the Messiah's life; how He came forth from the Father out of love; how he was born of simple woman, lived with suffering and rejection, came to a tortured death and yet rose victorious. Handel presents him as truly the King of Kings. The "O Antiphon" for today pronounces Jesus the "King of all nations" and ends with the appeal, "Come make us one in you." We know too well the cause of our divisions, the cause of suffering, war, famine and disease. May we become one in the God who is Love.

Scripture Readings: Psalm 47:3
                               Isaiah 9:5-6
Draeing by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

Splendor of Eternal Light

The windows of our monastery offer us splendid views of the sun rising over the hills of Dutchess County opposite us along the Hudson River. The sun seems to pierce the darkness. Today's "O Antiphon" speaks of just that; the light of the Messiah piercing the darkness of our world and our lives. This year has brought darkness into so many lives. Many are struggling to make it through. The antiphon speaks of the "Sun of Justice". We pray that justice will reign for all people. "O Sun, pierce all hearts with your compassionate love so that justice will be poured forth upon the earth."

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 9:1

                               Malachi 3:20

                               Luke 1:78-79

Drawing by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

Open Our Hearts

Sometimes my heart is as locked up as the door to a prison cell. It can seem impenetrable, not allowing any influence to worm its way inside to release some love,  compassion, understanding sympathy, or warmth of any kind. In this way I become like stone. In this petrified state I can love nothing and no one, not even myself. The Messiah is the key to our freedom of heart. We wait for his coming and pray that our relationship to Emmanuel, to God-with-us, will be heart to heart.

Scriture Readings: Isaiah 9:6

                             Isaiah 22:22

                             Isaiah 40:4-5

Drawing by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

Lo, How a Rose......

Singing in high school choir is one of the memorable experiences of my life. Under the demanding direction of Sr. Mary Cecilia, CSJ at Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn, New York we learned some of the most demanding choral pieces and also some difficult arrangements of standards. It was there that I fell in love with "Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming". It still puts a lump in my throat. The second verse begins: "Isaiah 'twas foretold it, the rose I have in mind." What Isaiah foretold was that "flower of Jesse", that child of the line of David who would bring salvation to his people. And so we too watch for the coming of our salvation. We grow inpatient for the day of his birth and beg, "Come, Lord do not delay."

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 33:14

                                Isaiah 11:1

                               Habakuk 2:3

                               Sirach 35:19a

Drawing by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

A Plea for Freedom - "O" Antiphons Continue

Ancient Israelites and modern African-Americans both whispered and shouted this plea for freedom - freedom from domination and oppression. Today we pray for this same freedom for those in our world who remain as victims of injustice. But we also pray for the freedom of which St. Paul spoke - the freedom of the children of God. This is a freedom that comes from knowing that you are totally loved by God, that Jesus brought redemption for all. I find that I pray also for those addicted to activities and substances that limit their freedom and deprive them of joy.

Some scripture readings to consider: Isaiah 11:4a,5

Isaiah 33:22, Jeremiah 32:21

Drawing by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

The Moment Draws Nigh

Today the whole Church begins its special liturgical punctuation of the last days of Advent, the last days leading to the great Feast of the Incarnation. Each day, a new antiphon beginning with an "O" introduces the canticle in the Offfice Vespers. The canticle is Mary's Magnificat: "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior." The first "O Antiphon" was said today and began "O Wisdom of God..." Great musical settings in various forms of chant, particularly the Gregorian, have been composed over the centuries for these antiphons. Each antiphon is so powerful as to provide material for a day's meditation. May you find them a blessing.

Drawing by Sr. Moira Quinn, OSsR

ADVENT EVENING at the MONASTERY

"Songs of the Beloved"

Advent music and

narration of a Christmas Novena

by Venerable Maria Celeste Crostarosa

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 7pm

at

Mother of Perpetual Help Monastery Chapel

of the Redemptoristine Nuns

Route 9W, Esopus

north end of the grounds of Mount St. Alphonsus

(845) 384-6533 rednuns@juno.com

http://www.redemptoristinenunsofnewyork.org/

Come and begin your Christmas Novena with us.

Adore, O my soul, in the bosom of Mary
the only begotten Son of God
who became man for love of you.

Advent Time

On this day of the liturgical year, every first Friday of Advent, the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours offers a selection from St. Anselm's Proslogion. This is a favorite of mine. It begins:

Insignificant mortal, escape from your everyday business for a short while, hide for a moment from your restless thoughts. Break off from your cares and troubles and be less concerned about your tasks and labors. Make a little time for God and rest a while in him.

The passage ends:

Teach me to seek you, and when I seek you show yourself to me, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, nor can I find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you and love you in finding you.

Today, however, the sister giving the second reading at the Office chose, as is an option, another reading. Her choice was taken from a very fine book written by a friend of ours Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. Cooks may recognize Twleve Months of Monastery Soups as one of his recipe books. Todays reading was taken from his Blessings of the Daily - A Monastic Book of Days. It is a wonderful collection of daily readings. Todays' was titled "Fostering the Spirit of Advent" which offered some hint for keeping the season. Here is a summary.

1. Cultivate an attitude of stillness, silence and peace within you that will, in turn, foster prayer and recollection.

2. Place an icon of the Annunciation in a relevant spot at home to remind of Mary's presence.

3. Make time for Bible reading (Lectio Divina).

4. Listen to inspired music - Bach Advent Cantatas, Handel's Messiah.

5. Participate in the Liturgies of the Church.

6. Don't rush the season with a tree. Use and Advent wreath and pray with it. lighting candles at meal time.

7. Place a small creche in your dining area. Leave the crib empty and light a candle beside it when you eat your meals.

8. Be faithful to the daily Angelus - the great prayer of the mystery of the Incarnation.

Thank you, Brother Victor

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Angelus

Leader: The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:

Response: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Leader: Behold the handmaid of the Lord:

Response: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary

Leader: And the Word was made Flesh:

Response: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary

Leader: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,

Response: that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.