Monthly Archives: December 2022

Frances Xavier CabriniFrancesca Saverio Cabrini was the first United States citizen to be canonized. Her deep trust in the loving care of her God gave her the strength to be a valiant woman doing the work of Christ. Refused admission to the religious order which had educated her to be a teacher, she began charitableContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, December 22, 2022”

AntiphonChant: https://tinyurl.com/yar6cdh3 O Oriens,splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. O Morning Star,splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. O Rising Dawn,you shine with warm brightness and clean freshness,chasing the fearsome shadows of the night away:enlightenContinue reading “Oremus for Wednesday, December 21, 2022”

OrigenOrigen of Alexandria, a third-century Christian scholar, loved Jesus, the Scriptures, and Neo-Platonic philosophy—a combination that Christians since have viewed as either the height of faithful theology or the depth of horrendous error. Whatever one’s views of his theology, his life was utterly dedicated to Christ. In his boyhood, when a persecution struck Alexandria hard,Continue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, December 20, 2022”

AntiphonChant: https://tinyurl.com/y8zya7wc O radix Jesse,qui stas in signum populorum,super quem continebunt reges os suum,quem Gentes deprecabuntur:veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare. O Root of Jesse,standing as a sign among the peoples;before you kings will shut their mouths,to you the nations will make their prayer:Come and deliver us, and delay no longer. O Root of Jesse,youContinue reading “Oremus for Monday, December 19, 2022”

Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yaqpktwa O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,et ei in Sina legem dedisti:veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento. O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bushand gave him the law on Sinai:Come and redeem us with an outstretchedContinue reading “Oremus for Sunday, December 18, 2022”

O SapientiaThe Western Church has been singing the “O” Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as theContinue reading “Oremus for Saturday, December 17, 2022”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/py2kunu6 Say to the faint of heart: Be strong and do not fear.Behold, our God will come, and he will save us. Isaiah 35 Almighty God,to whom all hearts are open,all desires, known,and from whom no secrets are hid:Cleanse the thoughts of our heartsby the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,that we may perfectly loveContinue reading “Oremus for Friday, December 16, 2022”

Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/yv8p7hny Drop down dew from above, you heavens,and let the clouds rain down the Just One;let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior. Isaiah 45 Almighty God,to whom all hearts are open,all desires, known,and from whom no secrets are hid:Cleanse the thoughts of our heartsby the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,that we may perfectlyContinue reading “Oremus for Thursday, December 15, 2022”

John of the CrossBorn to an impoverished noble family near Avila in Spain in 1542, Juan de Yepes was brought up by his widowed mother and went to a charity school. He worked as a nurse and received further education from the Jesuits before entering the Carmelite order when he was twenty-one. Having distinguished himselfContinue reading “Oremus for Wednesday, December 14, 2022”

Samuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson was born in 1709 and is best known as a writer of dictionaries and a literary editor. Yet in his lifetime he was renowned for his religious beliefs and as a firm supporter of the practice and order of the Church of England. He had been converted to Christianity as young manContinue reading “Oremus for Tuesday, December 13, 2022”