Veni, Clavis Davidica,O come, thou Key of David, come,
Regna reclude caelica,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Fac iter tutum superum,
Make safe the way that leads on high,
Et claude vias inferum.
And close the path to misery.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
A reflection on O Clavis David, the fourth of the Great O Antiphons, by Br Bede Mullens OP, at Blackfriars Oxford (20.12.20).
Isaiah had prophesied, “I will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (22:22), and “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.” (9:6).
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“O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.”
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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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