Emmanuel – Daily Graces

O Antiphons

Published on December 17, 2017December 17, 2017 by KateLeave a comment

They’re here!! I love the O Antiphons of Advent. These ancient prayers are what make up the text to my favorite Advent hymn O Come O Come Emmanuel. I never get tired of it. The O Antiphons are used as part of Evening Prayer the last 7 days before Christmas Eve. So today is the first day:

O Wisdom of our God Most High,

guiding creation with power and love:

come to teach us the path of knowledge!

Each of these 7 days I’m going to be posting on the Daily Graces Facebook page which Antiphon is for their day as well as a short prayer that echoes the idea of that antiphon.

If you haven’t already, check out the page and be sure to “like” it so you get all the Antiphons. I’m purposefully not posting these daily in the blog in an effort to decrease email traffic during these last days of Advent. I don’t know about you but my email has been exploding the last two weeks with sales, promotions and gift guides. While one or two were genuinely helpful, it’s been a chore to go through and delete delete delete.

If you’re trying to spend time away from your computer or phone to help you better prepare your heart for Jesus’ birth, be sure to check out the USCCB page which has all the Antiphons listed. You can copy them down and pray them each day without needing any technology besides pen and paper! Or if you have access to Evening Prayer the Antiphons are listed there as well.

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Well I’m not used to posting from my phone and accidentally published this before it was finished! I wanted to wish you all a blessed Gaudete Sunday, a Happy Advent and a very Merry (early) Christmas!

May peace and joy always reign in your hearts and your homes

Daily Advent Prayer Experiences for 2016 by DailyGraces.net

December 25, 2016 – Merry Christmas

Published on December 24, 2016December 24, 2016 by KateLeave a comment

For unto us a child is born,
Unto us a Son is given…
And His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace (excerpt from Handel’s Messiah)

Every year in high school (except maybe 1 I think, I blame pregnancy brain for my failing memory) the choir sang Handel’s Messiah. Anyway, these lyrics are some of my top favorite Christmas lyrics and tune. It’s happy, bouncy, almost bell-like and so full of promise.

Jesus’ birth brings forth a new dawn for humanity. He truly is Wonderful, our Counsellor, the Mighty God and the Prince of Peace. The sin of Adam and Eve brought sin, death, anxiety, worry and darkness. One of the curses placed upon Eve specifically is that children are now brought into the world through pain. Through this pain Jesus enters the world.

People approach the holidays, especially Christmas, with a variety of attitudes and memories. For some, Christmas is a time of joy, family, good food and fun memories. For others, perhaps Christmas brings sad memories, painful relationships, and loneliness.

Jesus’ birth is a beautiful juxtaposition of these wide variety of feelings. While the angels are singing “Gloria” and filling the skies with what would be the definition of joyful noise, Mary was experiencing the most explosive pain she had ever felt.

I believe this speaks to God’s love and generosity. God doesn’t swoop in a way that is beyond our comprehension, then give us a bunch of teachings that are challenging to understand and accept, then ultimately save us in a manner that is again, beyond our comprehension. Yes, the Incarnation is most definitely beyond our grasp. However, the pain of childbirth, the joy of seeing your newborn child for the first time, the pride in showing him off to visitors – these are relatable moments. I think this is what is so appealing about Christmas. Even though most of us can’t relate to giving birth in a stable or cave, there isn’t much that could be more fundamentally human than bringing new life into the world.

And now to quote myself (I hope everyone is ok with that), I would like to leave you with the last paragraphs from one of the last prayer experiences….

God continues in His generosity and overabundance. Jesus didn’t simply save the nations from the slavery of sin and death. He also gifted us with His very Body and Blood so that we might continue to be united in communion with Him and one another. He went even further than that. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus promised that His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would come down upon the apostles and remain with them.

God-with-us isn’t just a historical event. Emmanuel isn’t only in the manger.

Jesus, Emmanuel, is the here and now. Even as we celebrate Jesus’ birth today, do not be fooled into thinking that He isn’t born anew each time you invite Him into your heart.

*** Please feel free to share your experience, thoughts and offer support to one another in the comments, on Twitter with the #DailyGraces or on the Facebook page.

December 23, 2016 – Emmanuel

Published on December 22, 2016December 16, 2016 by KateLeave a comment

O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!

Emmanuel. God-with-us. These words are the start of the most radical and unconventional religion. Truly, think about it. We Christians fully believe that God, the divine, almighty, eternal God, became human…..? What prior religious tradition does that fit into? What group of people would that even make sense to? Gods don’t become human. Humans might strive for godhood or perhaps have godlike qualities, but gods and men are two fundamentally different things.

Until Emmanuel. The Incarnation of Jesus is a mystery of mysteries that we are still unfolding and will continue to ponder until Jesus returns again. Think back to our very first antiphon. Jesus, O Wisdom, the Word, is God who existed before the world began and indeed is outside of our concept of time. This same Jesus became a human, born of a woman. He came as the smallest and weakest of all of us, the new shoot from the root of Jesse in the early spring. He heralds the radiant dawn of a new day, a new order of creation. Jesus lived in a historical place and occupied a specific period of time. He walked, talked, ate, worked, celebrated and sorrowed with people every day. Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Jesus is the overabundance of God’s love for His people. The Jewish people had been longing for a savior. We have united our longing with theirs through these antiphons. God fulfilled His promises in an unimaginable way. Instead of simply sending a mighty leader as the majority of Jews expected, God Himself came to save His people.

God-with-us isn’t just a historical event. Emmanuel isn’t only in the manger.

Jesus, Emmanuel, is the here and now. Even as we anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth, do not be fooled into thinking that He isn’t born anew each time you invite Him into your heart.

*** Please feel free to share your experience, thoughts and offer support to one another in the comments, on Twitter with the #DailyGraces or on the Facebook page.