The verses of the well-known Advent hymn
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
are based on the Great “O Antiphons” from the Liturgy of the Hours.
These Antiphons are sung at Evening Prayer
on the last seven days of Advent leading up to Christmas.
Veni, O Sapientia…
O Adonai…
O radix Jesse…
O clavis David…
O Oriens…
O Rex Gentium…
O Emmanuel.
Come, O Wisdom from on high…
O Lord of Might…
O Root of Jesse…
O Key of David…
O Rising Dawn…
O King of the Nations…
O God-with-us…
In this beautiful hymn…
we sing of the ways in which God has been present to His people Israel:
in the burning bush on Mount Sinai…
through the leadership of King David and the other kings…
we join the people of Israel in their deep desire and longing for a Savior:
as they cry out…
come, put the darkness to flight…
come, close the path to misery and give us victory over death…
come, make safe the path that leads on high!
and we celebrate Jesus,
who is the completion of all that was promised to Israel
by the prophets of old.
As we begin the holy Season of Advent…
and with this Sunday enter into a new church year…
this is our song…the song of the whole Church:
“Come, O Emmanuel, and ransom your captive people!”
[PAUSE]
In this time when the days grow shorter,
we wait in the darkness…
we wait as the Israelites did…
hoping and looking forward to the birth of Jesus,
the light of the world…
and the promised Messiah.
[PAUSE]
As today’s readings express…
Advent is also about anticipating the Second Coming of Christ,
when He will come in power and glory at the end of time.
Jesus calls us all to be vigilant…
to commit our lives to Him,
to turn away from the pleasures of the world,
to pray for the strength to escape tribulations that will come,
to be always ready…
because your redemption is at hand.
[PAUSE]
Jesus came as a baby boy some 2,006 years ago…
Jesus will come one day as the glorified savior and judge of the world…
We celebrate His coming in the past…and His coming in the future…
And as we gather for Holy Mass…
we celebrate His coming among us now in the Holy Eucharist!
Each time we receive Communion…
we experience the coming of Emmanuel…
which means “God-with-us.”
Jesus is with us as a Church in every celebration of the Mass…
and is with each of us personally in our reception of Holy Communion.
Mary awaited the birth of her son…
Israel awaited the coming of the promised Messiah…
We await the coming of Christ at the end of time…
In this Advent Season…we await the celebration of Christmas…
In every Mass… we long to receive our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist.
In that spirit of longing for Jesus…
we prepare our bodies…and our souls…and our lives…
for the coming of Jesus in the Eucharist!
[PAUSE]
Because our preparation for Communion is so important…
The bishops of the United States…at their meeting two weeks ago…
released a document on preparing to receive Christ worthily in the Eucharist.
The title of the document is taken from the prayer of the priest
immediately before Communion,
which is a poetic translation of a passage from the Book of Revelation:
“Happy are those who are called to His supper.”
Excellent document available online…link on diocesan website…www.doy.org
[PAUSE]
The bishops remind us that none of us is worthy of so great a gift as the Eucharist…
and yet Jesus comes to us in love to share with us His divine life.
In anticipation of such a great and holy gift…
we ought to make ourselves ready and worthy to receive Him.
What happens so often in our churches
is that everyone who is present for Mass
simply approaches the Altar to receive Communion.
Not enough thought is given to one’s worthiness to enter into Communion with Jesus.
[PAUSE]
Our Communion at Mass…
is a real experience of union with the person of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes our lives are not in union with Jesus Christ…
and so, receiving the Eucharist is no longer a true act of union.
Thus, it is necessary to examine ourselves…
and to prepare ourselves well for Mass…
so that we may experience our Eucharistic Communion
in its fullness…
as a truly rich and complete experience of union with Jesus.
The bishops tell us that we prepare for Communion by the way we live our lives…
by faithfully and lovingly fulfilling the duties of our own unique vocation…
whether that be as a cleric, as husband and wife, as mother or father…
by spending time often and regularly in prayer and reading Sacred Scripture
especially prayer before the Blessed Sacrament…
and by regular participation in the Sacrament of Penance.
We also prepare for Communion by our celebration of the Liturgy.
We hunger for the Lord…
by keeping the Eucharistic Fast for at least one our before Communion.
We prepare spiritually…
by coming early and prayerfully recollecting ourselves before Mass…
by participating fully in all the songs and prayers of the Mass.
We show our reverence for God and the Liturgy…
and our respect for one another…
by dressing appropriately and modestly for Mass.
In all these ways, we prepare ourselves for the greatest gift God will ever give to us!
[PAUSE]
Last week, I was home for Thanksgiving,
and I was the deacon at Mass with the pastor if my home parish.
He mentioned in his homily that on Black Friday
there were people up at 5 AM waiting in line at the department stores…
but no one was waiting at 5 AM to get into church!
Our Church’s celebration of Advent stands in stark contrast
to the commercialism and hype of a Christmas… or “Holiday”…Season
that now begins in September.
As the retailers are fighting over your money…
and shoppers are fighting over video games…
the Church is saying:
“slow down, watch and wait with joyful expectation…
and really savor the beauty of Christmas.”
If we celebrate Advent well…
how much more special will be our Christmas!
If we live our lives always ready for Jesus’ second coming…
how much more joyful will it be when He appears!
If we prepare well for Communion…
how much more beautiful and truly special will be our union with Jesus!
Perhaps we can add one more verse to our favorite Advent hymn:
Veni, O Rex Eucharistiae!
Come, O Eucharistic King! Come, and fill us with your love!
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