FIFTH DAY
THE
GREAT ANTIPHONS
O
Orient! Splendor of eternal light, and Sun of Justice! come and enlighten them
that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.
O Jesus, divine Sun! thou art coming to snatch us from eternal night:
blessed for ever be thy infinite goodness! But thou puttest our faith to the
test, before showing thyself in all thy brightness. Thou hidest thy rays, until
the time decreed by thy heavenly Father comes, in which all thy beauty will
break upon the world. Thou art traversing Judea; thou art near Jerusalem; the
journey of Mary and Joseph is nigh its term. Crowds of men pass or meet thee on
the road, each one hurrying to his native town, there to be enrolled, as the
Edict commands. Not one of all these suspects that thou, O divine Orient! art
so near him. They see thy Mother Mary, and they see nothing in her above the
rest of women; or if they are impressed by the majesty and incomparable modesty
of this august Queen, it is but a vague feeling of surprise at there being such
dignity in one so poor as she is; and they soon forget her again. If the Mother
is thus an object of indifference to them, it is not to be expected that they
will give even so much as a thought to her Child, that is not yet born. And yet
this Child is thyself, O Sun of Justice! Oh! Increase our Faith, but increase,
too, our Love. If these men loved thee, O Redeemer of mankind, thou wouldst
give them the grace to feel thy presence; their eyes, indeed, would not yet see
thee, but their hearts, at least, would burn within them, they would long for
thy Coming, and would hasten it by their prayers and sighs. Dearest Jesus! who
thus traversest the world thou hast created, and who forcest not the homage of
thy creatures, we wish to keep near thee during the rest of this thy journey:
we kiss the footsteps of Her that carries thee in her womb; we will not leave
thee, until we arrive together with thee at Bethlehem, that House of Bread,
where, at last, our eyes will see thee, O splendour of eternal light, our Lord
and our God!
PRAYER FOR THE TIME OF
ADVENT
(The Mozarabic Breviary, Monday of the Fifth Week, Oratio.)
O God, our Father! what horrid crime is this I see committed in thy
presence by the reprobate Jews! They spurn thy Son, that was foretold in the
Law, and remain in the gulf of their incredulity: whereas, they, to whom he was
not announced, have seen him; and they who heard not, contemplated him, in
their spirit. Remove, therefore, we beseech thee, from us all that resists thee
in our conduct, that so, with a believing heart, we may in such manner bring
forth the branches of thy gifts bestowed on us, as that the root of humility
may never dry up within us. Amen.
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