Category: Liturgy

O Clavis David. Choosing freedom.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 20/12/2025

Image by NoName_13 from pixabay.com

Today at Vespers we’ll sing the 4th O antiphon, O Clavis David, O key of David”:

“O key of David, and ruler of the house of Israel: who open and none can close: close and none may open: come bring out of prison the captive who sits in darkness and the shadow of death.”

It speaks of a deep and powerful yearning for freedom that lives within all of us. We each long for freedom from all that would restrict our growth and development. We desire the freedom to become the people we are called to be, to nurture the talents we’ve each been given.

This yearning for freedom is deeply personal and individual, yet there is more to it that that. The past few years have taught us some hard lessons about freedom. The pandemic, the suffering of war, the economic crisis, the worsening ecological situation all point to the fact that this freedom we desire can’t only be a personal, individual freedom.

It has also to be a communal freedom, a freedom that is willing to sacrifice individual freedoms for the common good. It has to be a freedom that is willing to put the needs of others before our own.

In chapter 72 of the Rule St Benedict tells us that Christ brings us “all together” to everlasting life. It seems to me the same is true of the freedom Christ offers us, we accept it for each other as much as for ourselves.

What would enable you to accept the freedom Christ offers this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek3, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #freedom, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #OClavisDavid, #RuleOfStBenedict, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy O Antiphons O Radix Jesse

O Radix Jesse. Rooted in Christ.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 19/12/2025

Image by Joe from pixabay.com

From the archive for the third O antiphon:

The third O antiphon, O Radix Jesse, O root of Jesse, takes up the image of the root of Jesse that stands as a “signal” to the nations.

“O Root of Jesse, who stands as a signal for the peoples, before whom kings will be silent, to whom the nations shall pray: come to free us, delay no longer.”

For me it speaks of Christ, the root of our being, grounding us and nurturing us so that we will bear” fruit that will last”. In these challenging and uncertain times is easy to feel uprooted and disconnected.

Life has become increasingly uncertain. Many of the structures & institutions we relied on have become very unsteady. It feels as though everything we thought was trustworthy has become unreliable. The ground we thought was solid under our feet has turned out to be shifting sands.

This leaves us all too aware of our vulnerability and fragility, both as individuals and as communities. We feel rootless and ungrounded. In that situation the thought of being rooted in Christ, and Christ being rooted in our hearts is especially consoling and hopeful.

In these uncertain times what helps you to stay rooted in Christ?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek3, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #RootedInChrist, #Signal, #trust, #Vulnerability

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy O Adonai O Antiphons Prophetic voices Scripture

O Adonai. Encountering the living God.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 18/12/2025

Натали Хмельницкая

Some thoughts from the archives for O Adonai. This evening at Vespers we’ll sing the second of the O antiphons, O Adonai, O Lord God.

“O Lord God, leader of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai: come to redeem us with outstretched arm.”

It takes us back to one of the passages of Scripture that touches me most deeply, Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. Moses is engaged in the most ordinary of daily activities, looking after his father-in-law’s herds. Then God breaks into his life in its ordinariness, messiness and uncertainty in a completely unexpected way.

Curiosity compels Moses to turn aside when he sees the bush aflame, and he is drawn into an encounter with God which is challenging and life changing beyond anything he could have imagined.

In the uncertain times we face yet again this antiphon has a very particular message. It tells us that the God of love who came to Moses and the burning bush can also break into the ordinariness and uncertainty of our daily lives and set us aflame. Facing hard and challenging times it’s good to remember that the God of love who reached out to Moses because of the cries suffering people also hears our cries and comes to redeem us.

As we move through Advent where do you need the redeeming touch of God in your life?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek3, #Benedictine, #burningbush, #challenge, #Christlike, #Encounter, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #Moses, #OAdonai, #OAntiphons, #Scripture, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy O Sapientia Scripture

Wisdoms’ call.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 17/12/2025

Photo by Vincentiu Solomon on unsplash.com

Something from the archives as we begin the O Antiphons. These prayers developed by the early church call on Christ to come and save us. They never directly used the name of Christ, but take up the titles used for the Messiah in the Old Testament. They change the whole tone of Advent, increasing the sense of anticipation and expectation.

We began with O Sapientia, O Wisdom:

“O Wisdom, who came forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end of creation to the other, strongly and sweetly ordering all things, come to teach us the way of prudence.”

This antiphon always take me back to the Creation, to the Spirit hovering over the waters as God brings new life out of chaos. I’m always especially drawn to the especially to the image from Proverbs of Wisdom playing and delighting in God’s presence at the Creation.

We’re living in challenging and chaotic times that make us increasingly aware of our smallness and vulnerability. Our need for the hovering Spirit to draw new life and hope out of these chaotic times becomes clearer every day. By recalling our beginnings O Sapientia reminds us that our beginnings are in the heart of God. However chaotic and disturbing our present might be we are created and held in the love of God.

As we move through Advent where is wisdom drawing you back into the love of God?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek3, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #creation, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #OAntiphons, #OSapientia, #Scripture, #Spirit, #trust, #wisdom

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Saints

Light in deep darkness.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 13/12/2025

Photo by Sam Goodgame on unsplash.com

Advent is the coldest, darkest, lowest time of the year. That time when we are most aware of our fragility and vulnerability, when it can be easy to lose sight of the Lord’s radiance. It’s the season when it seems most tempting to give in to despair and hopelessness as everything around us seems dark, cold and colourless. It’s a time when we need to be reminded that the light of the Lord’s love has not disappeared from our lives.

Today we’re celebrating the feast of St Lucy. This morning we sang a hymn written by one of our sisters that captures both the darkness and the vulnerability of Advent and the hope that St Lucy points us towards. A young woman martyred for her faith, St Lucy reminds us that, however dark our world might seem, the light has not been wiped out of our lives, instead it is planted deep within us waiting for the right time to burst forth into new life. This morning we sang:

Deep in the darkness seeds of light are sown,
The joyous Light the dark has never known;
Beneath the ground the living waters sing,
And secret streams new life, new gladness bring:
Before the seas were shaped the Fountain played,
And Light shone out before the stars were made.

The words of the hymn offer us hope. They remind me that however dark life might seem there are seeds of light hidden in the darkness, waiting, germinating, preparing to put out shoots when the time is right. As we approach the shortest day, the lowest point of the year I am grateful for St Lucy’s gentle light reminding us to look towards the Lord’s radiance and directing us to new life and new hope.

What seeds of light are sown through your darkness this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek2, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #light, #LightInDarkness, #love, #Radiance, #StLucy, #trust, #Vulnerability

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Consolation

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 09/12/2025

Photo by Myriam Zilles on unsplash.com

There are some words in Scripture that I think we can’t hear often enough. That applies to these words from today’s first reading:

“’Console my people, console them’ says your God…”

They touch the very depths of our hearts, offering comfort and hope whatever we face. Our world projects an image of how life should look. We see it on television, in films, in magazines and on social media.

We are supposed to be living “perfect” lives, happy, balanced and with everything we could possibly need or want. We find this image beguiling and attractive, and we don’t have to look very far before we begin to realise how little it matches the reality of our lives.

Isaiah allows us acknowledge our pain, our suffering, our brokenness. That in itself is a true gift. He frees us from having to live up to a false image of how our lives should be. Isaiah reminds us that we can come into God’s presence with all the jagged edges of our brokenness. We can bring to God all the hurts we carry, and all those we have inflicted on others.

We can trust Isaiah’s promise that we will be met, not with condemnation, but with the consolation of a God who knows our weakness and our suffering. Much as we need it and desire it, it is not always easy to open our hearts to such wholehearted consolation.

What would help you find the courage to open your heart to the consolation God offers you this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek2, #Benedictine, #challenge, #consolation, #Gift, #gospel, #Grace, #Hope, #Isaiah, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #promise, #trust

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Saints Scripture

Hope and Promise

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 08/12/2025

Photo by Laura Nyhuis on unsplash.com

Today, as we celebrate the Immaculate Conception I’m reflecting on Luke’s beautiful depiction of Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel. God reaches out not to offer consolation and healing or judgement and condemnation, but with an invitation to take an active part in the work of salvation.

The angel doesn’t come to command Mary’s obedience, but to ask for her wholehearted cooperation in bringing salvation to a broken world the world. Having laid out God’s plan for the angel waits for her response. This is summed up in a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux:

“The angel is waiting for your answer, it is time for him to return to the God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady…If you consent straightaway shall we be saved…by one little word of yours in answer shall we all be made alive.”

His words make the sense of creation waiting with anticipation and hope almost tangible.

This can make it easy to forget that Mary was an ordinary woman. She lived with the same mix of challenges, hopes and expectations that we all face. Yet, she also belonged to people who had waited in hope for generations for the coming of the Messiah.

Living under an occupying army she had learned to keep hope alive when it seemed to be pointless. She had learned to trust when it seemed that every promise had been broken. All this enabled her response, filling us all with anticipation and hope:

‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’

We come to Advent facing our own mix of hopelessness and broken promises. Like Mary we are called to keep trusting in the Lord promises for our times, however hard that might seem.

Where is Christ calling you to trust the promise of his coming this Advent?

Tags #annunciation, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Expectation, #gospel, #Hope, #ImmaculateConception, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #messiah, #newlife, #StBernardofClairvaux, #trust, #VirginMary

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

People of Joy

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 05/12/2025

Photo by Ameer Basheer on unsplash.com

Advent calls us to be people of joy. We’re called to rejoice in the knowledge that is always with us. We can rejoice because we know that that we are surrounded by the love of God, a love that seeks to fulfil our hopes and our desires.

This beautiful and consoling thought is taken up again today by the prophet Isaiah as he describes how God will transform the lives of his people, welcoming them home to a new place of safety. He writes:

“The lowly will rejoice in the Lord even more and the poorest exult in the Holy One; for tyrants shall be no more, and scoffers vanish…and all be destroyed who are disposed to do evil…”

It’s a promise to put those most in need in the forefront, to protect them and bring them to a place where their dignity will be respected and they will be truly valued. As I look around our world it’s tempting to see this as at best a beautiful fantasy, a dream that has no place in the harsh reality of a modern life that leaves no place for dreamers.

Yet Advent is the season for dreamers. It calls us to risk dreaming. This is not an escapist fantasy. In the darkest time of the year Advent invites us to look into the darkness and dream of the light that it cannot overcome.

It encourages us to imagine the very best we can be in these dark times, so that we have a vision to work towards, something to aim for. We won’t achieve the perfection we dream of, but we can move towards it, inching towards a world that is kinder, more loving, more compassionate.

Where is Christ inviting you rejoice and dream this Advent?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek1, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #gospel, #Hope, #joy, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #rejoice, #trust, #vision

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Trusting the Lord

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 04/12/2025

Photo by Purnomo Capunk on unsplash.com

At the darkest and coldest time of year Advent offers us hope. It carries a clear message that however unlikely it might feel we will pass through this dark time into the light of new life that the Incarnation promises us.

In today’s first reading Isaiah calls the people to keep trusting, regardless of appearances, in spite of all they have lost and suffered:

“Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord is the everlasting Rock…”

He knows that it is not easy for people who have suffered and lost everything to trust, yet he carries on with his message of hope. He carries on believing that the promises God has made to the people will be fulfilled. Even in the darkest of times Isaiah’s message to the people is to wait in hope for the light to return.

As we sit in our own dark times it’s a valuable message for us too. In the gospel Jesus shows us how we can keep on trusting in such times. He tells the story of the wise person who built their house on rock to remind us that it is the rock of his word and his teaching that will sustain us whatever storms we face.

Where are you being called to trust that Christ will bring his light into the heart of your dark times?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek1, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #gospel, #Hope, #Isaiah, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #light, #LightInDarkness, #love, #newlife, #Rock

Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Advent blessings

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 03/12/2025

Photo by Sasha Freemind on unsplash.com

However small and faltering our faith might seem Advent reminds us that we can discover God’s blessing in our lives. Today’s readings paint a beautiful picture of the blessings God showers on us. Isaiah shows the people of God being welcomed home to a place of safety, plenty and consolation:

“On this mountain God will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, God will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek…”

In the gospel, Matthew’s version of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus makes that vision a reality for the crowds who follow him. Both readings offer us a glimpse of the Kingdom in our midst, of the blessings a loving God showers on us.

It’s easy to believe in such blessings when our lives are relatively easy, when our societies feel stable and secure. But we live in times of great uncertainty, suffering and fear. That makes it harder to discover and acknowledge the blessings that God is still showering on us.

Advent calls us to be open to the possibility of blessing even in times when all our instinct tells us to be wary. This is not a new situation, all through their challenging and difficult history the people of Israel believed in and sought God’s blessing even when it seemed very far from them.

Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah and Joseph stayed open to the possibility of blessing even in hard and dangerous circumstances. They were able to journey on trusting that if they lived with integrity they would receive the blessings God promised.

Where are you discovering God’s blessing in these challenging times?

Tags #Advent, #AdventWeek1, #Benedictine, #Blessing, #challenge, #faith, #gospel, #HolyMountain, #Hope, #Isaiah, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #tears, #trust