Monday, December 19, 2022

Novena for the Christ-Mass: Day 4 (O Radix Jesse)

Veni, O Jesse virgula,
    O come, thou Rod of Jesse's stem,
Ex hostis tuos ungula,
    From every foe deliver them.
De specu tuos tartari
    That trust thy mighty power to save,
Educ et antro barathri.
    And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.


Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
    Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.
    Shall come to thee, O Israel.


A reflection on O Radix Jesse, the third of the Great O Antiphons, by Br John Church OP, at Blackfriars Oxford (19.12.20).

Isaiah had prophesied, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (11:1), and “On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (11:10). Remember also that Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:1).

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“O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.”

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(Commentary for this series of the “O Antiphons” is authored by Father William Saunders, a priest of the Diocese of Arlington, with copyright 2003 from the Arlington Catholic Herald. Images in the upper right corner are taken from the Illustrated Liturgical Year Calendar, a series of posters available by subscription from Sophia Institute Press, and featured at a marvelous internet resource entitled Liturgy of the Home, which we are fortunate to promote here once again. Both commentary and calendar illustrations are used in this series without permission or shame.)

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This entire series can be found in progress at the "xmasnovena2022” tag.

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