DECEMBER 20, 2020 O ANTIPHON O KEY OF DAVID

 

Happy 4^th Sunday of Advent!  I’m Sr. Moira Quinn. 
I am a Redemptoristine Nun speaking to you from the Incarnation Monastery in Beacon, NY.  Welcome to my reflection on the Great ‘O’ Antiphon: “O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!”

     ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ is probably the most beloved of all Advent hymns.   In the monastery, we sing the Great O Antiphons the last 7 nights before Christmas Eve during Evening Prayer as the introduction to the Magnificat: Mary’s hymn of rejoicing in the power of God.   Each evening’s antiphon gives us another name or title of God.  Tonight, we sing:

O come thou Key of David come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high;
and close the path to misery. 
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

         The ‘key’ in today’s Gospel of the Annunciation of the Lord is God’s gentle request, thru the Archangel Gabriel, and Mary’s humble and bold ‘Yes.’   This sets in motion our ‘release from misery and darkness   and opens the way to our heavenly home.’   What does Mary do when she accepts God’s invitation to be the Mother of the promised Messiah?  She rejoices.  She rejoices as she opens her heart and sings the Magnificat.

 

         Did you know the name Jesus, Y’shua, in English means ‘Jehovah sets free’?  That is the underlying theme of all the O Antiphons: our longing for God to free us from whatever keeps us in darkness.     In many cultures,

to know the name of another person gives you power over that person.  Think of the power we have in knowing, in our limited way, some of the names for the ineffable God; such as Key of David.  This awareness gives us the power to cry out boldly to God. 

         I just learned that ‘O’ is another way of saying ‘You.’  Can you imagine yourself boldly saying to God, “You, Key of David, listen up, open our hearts to set us free from dot, dot, dot.’ Not many of us would be so presumptuous in prayer, but I think God wants us, as St Alphonsus says, to talk to God as a trusted friend, and say what’s on our mind.

        

Sadly, we live in a time when we lock our doors and our hearts in fear of the unknown.  But the gentle Jesus is the Unknown One, who steals into this dark world as a babe.  And as a baby, our hearts are easily stolen and our burdens lightened.  Jesus, wielding the Key of Love, the Key of David, has stolen the stones that weigh down our hearts.  

         As Jesus grew, he gently and boldly announced to the world that he has come to break open the doors of our hearts to free us from the prison of darkness, hatred and fear, pride, misogyny, exclusion, arrogance, greed.

         Jesus wants ‘the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to God’s call: the promised glories that God’s holy ones will inherit.   Eph 1:18      ‘God has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Beloved Son. 

Through Jesus we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.’ Col.1:14     Through God’s grace we become a people of boldness and humility, integrity, wisdom, generosity, inclusivity, compassion, charity.

         In this time of covid-19 there is a sense of loss.  Every-thing feels different. Winter is here.  Today is one of the shortest days of the year.  With only 9 hours of daylight
the darkness feels overwhelming.  We need light, we yearn for it.  Just like we yearn for God to free us from the darkness of our lives.   It is as if we lost the key to life.

         Recently, we bought a new car that has a key fob.  As long as the fob is on your person you can open the car door and start the engine.  This fob gives you an invisible power.  What is our invisible power?  Our power is our faith in knowing God holds the key to set us free and bring us into the light.   The Blessed Virgin possessed that invisible power of faith and trust.  When the Archangel said, ‘Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God.’  Mary was able to boldly say Yes, and the Most High’s heart was unlocked- and out flowed the Light of Mercy, the Beloved Son.  Her ‘Yes’ gives us hope:  Jesus, ‘The true light, which enlightens everyone, and has come into the world.’  John 1:9  

         How humble is our God to come into our dysfunctional world.   Born to an obscure couple from a middle of nowhere village with no social standing this child was loved beyond all measure.  Thus, were the humble beginnings of Jesus, the God-made-man.  By his parents love and their prayerful reverence, they modeled to the young Jesus the power and holiness of a humble life. God enlightened Jesus and he grew strong in faith and love.

It takes real strength to be humble, to know who you really are.  In the genealogy of Matthew, Jesus is called ‘the son of David, the son of Abraham.’ (Mt 1:1)      In prayerful union with the Father, Jesus heard the words at his Baptism in the Jordan and on the mount of Transfiguration:  ‘This is my Beloved Son.’ Mt 3:17, 17:5  

Jesus understood he was God’s Beloved.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “The Father is in me and I in the Father” (10:38). “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30).  This proclaims the oneness of Jesus’ power with the power of God.   And as God’s emissary Christ uses this power to cast out the darkness of sin and enlighten us in the ways of God’s mercy and love.

         In prayer, we too, come to know we are God’s Beloved. 
         Mary’s Yes happened 2000 years ago.  But what about our yes?  Like Mary, we can have the courage and faith, hope and trust to pray confidently.  We can boldly call out to the Most High to lead us out of darkness.   Our faith and trust in God’s unconditional love assures us   our prayers will be heard as we follow Jesus who lights the Way.    

         An often-overlooked verse in today’s gospel says: “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Lk 1:32-33  

         The prophet Isaiah says: ‘I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut.’  Isaiah 22: 22  

         What ‘key’ is laid on Christ’s shoulder?  The cross.  This cross is the key which opens and closes the way to heaven.  Thank Goodness, Christ’s life, death and resurrection and ascension has given us a means, by the forgiveness of our sins, to enter heaven. 

         Advent is not a time of penance.   It’s a time of finding again the Key of David by nurturing and strengthening the power of our faith and trust to bring about the kingdom in our own time and place.  

         Jesus humbled himself to become a tiny babe in Bethlehem.  Today he comes to us as friend and savior, to give us the keys that unlocks whatever is keeping us imprisoned.

What keys do we need in today’s world?  The Key of David, the Light of the World, has the answer.    In the monastery we have been singing Advent hymns since Nov 28^th,  numerous times a day.  Around now, the 4^th Sunday of Advent, I get a little tired of it.  So, I listen to some oldies.  If you are of my generation, you may remember England Dan and John Ford Coley.  They had a song that speaks to me in this time of pandemic and post-election.   I’m not going to sing it, but you can find it on YouTube.  It’s called ‘Love is the Answer’ written by Todd Rundgren. 
The last part says:

Ask the man in your heart for the answer
And when you feel afraid, love one another
When you've lost your way, love one another
When you're all alone, love one another
When you're far from home, love one another
When you're down and out, love one another
All your hope’s run out, love one another
When you need a friend, love one another
When you're near the end, love,
we’ve got to love,
we’ve got to love one another now!
Light of the world,
shine on me,
Love is the answer
Shine on us all, 
Set us free, 
Love is the answer

For me, this sounds like a call and response.   It’s something like what we do in the monastery chapel when we pray reciting or singing the psalms with one side responding to the other.  In this pseudo Advent song, we call out our troubles and plead with God to help us. And God responds simply by answering: love one another.

         God gives us the Key: the Light of the World, to show us how to love, to shine on one another.  This key opens the gate to God’s kingdom in the here and now.   Can you hear God calling you in your heart?  
Come out of the darkness; you are free. 

         Let us polish the keys of love, light and freedom that God has given us in Jesus.  Let us unlock the doors of our hearts that we may sing to Jesus, ‘We are coming to you, Key of David, you, Emmanuel.   
And with Mary we REJOICE!

OUR CHRISTMAS LETTER

 Dear Sisters, Family, Friends and Benefactors,                    2020                                     

     Greetings and grace to you all this Advent, Christmas, New Year and Epiphany!    

During this season of expectation and joy, where do we find meaning and joy in this year that has gone-by amidst Covid-19, economic downturn, racial disparity, nation-wide protests, devastating damage caused by climate change, unprecedented elections and isolation from those we love?

     Our lives have become anamnesis as we live out in our own hearts, minds and bodies the life of Christ. In our charism our Foundress, Blessed Maria Celeste, called this being “A Living Memory” of Jesus.    But it is to be more than a memory.  Right now, she would say we are “Living like a babe in its Mother-God’s womb,” where “…no sorrow can enter this Placenta of Joy” while awaiting the time of our (new) birth.  There we are cared for, protected, safe, loved.

     Though life for many of you is completely different, life in the monastery still follows its daily rhythms of a life of prayer.  Last year, we began our Novena before Christmas praying for all your intentions and will do the same this year beginning December 16.  In the darkened Celeste Hall, sitting around the Advent wreath, we pray:  

Adore of my soul in the heart of Mary 

the only begotten Son of God who was made man for love of you.

      As usual, we had Christmas ‘Midnight Mass’ at 8:00 pm!  On New Year’s Eve we ritually selected our Patron Saints, Titles of our Lady, Practices from our Constitutions and Intentions for the coming Year.  Little did we know that in two weeks the novel coronavirus would land on our shores. 

     On February 24^th  Sisters Paula and Maria Paz went to help our Sisters in Liguori, Missouri.  Our last weekly visit to Sr. Lydia in the Ozanam Nursing Home was on Leap Year Day. The next week we held our last in-person quarterly Associate meeting.  Then everything closed down. 

     Sr. Paula came home from Liguori but went straight into self-isolation – she made a personal retreat out of it.  St. Patrick’s Day was our last in-person Mass.  Sr. Paz came home on April 6^th and she too went into isolation/retreat.

            Lent took on a whole new meaning. The entire world was praying for an end to this mysterious virus.   The Paschal Mystery of life and death and resurrection was revealed to us in a new way.  The Constitutions of our Order calls us to charity and paschal joy, and to radiate it out and around us giving witness to the Risen Christ.  We united our hearts and prayers to those who have been stricken by the virus and for those who died lonely deaths. We thank God for the self-sacrifice of courageous health-care and essential workers, and the positivity and creativity of those who put their faith into action. By our prayer we support them in spreading light, hope and love.   

     The Easter Triduum was celebrated with all solemnity.  Without a priest, the Sisters took a more active role in the liturgies.  We miss our friends who would ordinarily join us for these and Sunday Masses and all the feast days throughout the year. And so, we celebrated the fifty days of Easter and Pentecost with quiet joy.

     All the Sisters participated in this year’s election either by mail in ballot, early voting (one Sister waited 4 ½ hours on line!) or election day voting.  We pray for a smooth and peaceful transition of government.

     Carmelite Sr. Ellen Mary died after a brief final illness (not covid) and a small funeral was held for her family.  Her sweet presence will be greatly missed. Just before her death, a Carmelite from Rhode Island, Sr. Roseann, came to live her vocation here in Beacon.

     With joy we celebrated significant birthdays and anniversaries of profession throughout the year. All your intentions were included in our Novena Prayers to our Mother of Perpetual Help in June.  We rejoiced with the Carmelites as they celebrated their 100 years in New York.  We thank God for the use of technology which has kept us united with our communities and families.  We watched live-stream wakes and funerals of those Sisters who now know the fullness of joy in heaven, as well as professions and even a wedding. We ‘visit’ Sr. Lydia weekly on FaceTime.   We have participated in conferences, Novenas, Triduum and Masses on-line on: The Redemptorists-YouTube   Even our Associates renewed their commitments via Zoom. 

     Where did we find meaning and joy?  Right here in our monastery as we faithfully prayed for the world and church.  The little things of life took on greater meaning and appreciation: a day-old fawn snuggled along the wall outside Chapel, a walk through the spring-green woods, the crunch of fall leaves, the unexpected snow in October, the quiet of the Chapel, the voices of the Sisters, the memory of the Child born in Bethlehem who shines in our darkness bringing us faith, hope, peace and joy.

We are filled with deep gratitude for your generosity to us 

and the way you support our life of prayer.  

May your Christmas be blessed with the greatest Love of all ages. 
And may the year to come bring healing and new life.

FUMBLIMG TOWARD HEAVEN

 

I woke up with this phrase in mind, ‘fumbling toward heaven.’ It didn’t seem to be connected with a dream or anything – it just was there.

 But it got me thinking about football. A fumble is when someone on the opposite team makes you drop the football and recovers it for their side.  I am going to stretch this metaphor so run with me on this one. 

 Jesus is the football we carry through life tucked under our arm close to our heart.  We are advancing through the game of life toward our goal: heaven.   When certain circumstances of everyday life dislodge Jesus from our heart and make us drop the ball, how do we get it back?  In the second letter to Timothy St. Paul writes, ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but rather a spirit of power, and love and self-discipline.’

 Relying on the Spirit of Jesus we gain the power of the practice of self-discipline to scoop up the ball of Love and continue to carry it to our final destination. If we are called to be Jesus to each other and the world, then it shouldn’t be so hard to stoop down to lift up Jesus, ourselves and one another.

 Sometimes, we feel like we drop the ball constantly but thank goodness we have fans to cheer us on whether we are in possession of the ball or not.  Who are our fans?  Family and friends, co-workers, and all the angels and saints are cheering us on!  Not only are they fans but also our team!   They offer prayers and lend support, especially when the everyday cares and set backs get us down.  In our most desperate hours, we throw a ‘Hail Mary’ forward pass to our Lady and she is there to help us.

 To all eyes, Jesus’ death on a cross seemed like the biggest fumble ever.  But those who gathered below his cross: his Mother, John and Magdalene, believed and hoped in Jesus who came to save and bring them to heaven. And we know their hope was not in vain. 

 So, let us not be like Lucy who whips the football away just as Charlie Brown comes up to kick it.  Let us be like Charlie Brown who, even though he fumbles, he always believes and hopes.  Let us never ever give up hope.  Let us continue to fumble our way to heaven believing in Him who comes to save.

 

FOLLOW THE REDEEMER

         Follow me

It’s by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done

To be so in love with you and so alone

 Follow me where I go

 what I do and who I know
 Make it part of you

 to be a part of me
 Follow me up and down

 all the way and all around
 Take my hand

 and say you’ll follow me

 It’s long been on my mind
 You know it’s been a long, long time
 I’ve tried to find the way that I can make
 you understand
 The way I feel about you and just how
 much I need you
 To be there where I can talk to you
 When there’s no one else around

 Follow me where I go what I do and
 who I know
 Make it part of you to be a part of me
 Follow me up and down all the way and
 all around
 Take my hand and say you’ll follow me

 You see I’d like to share my life with you
 And show you things I’ve seen
 Places that I’m going to places where
 I’ve been
 To have you there beside me and never
 be alone
 And all the time that you’re with me
 We will be at home

 Follow me where I go what I do and
 who I know
 Make it part of you to be a part of me
 Follow me up and down all the way
 Take my hand and I will follow you

John Denver

The Third Sunday of July is the Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer: the official title of the Order of the Redemptoristines and the Congregation of the Redemptorists.  It is always a day of celebration.  And music is always part of the celebration. Recently I heard the John Denver song, ‘Follow Me’ on the radio. I love that song. It took me back to my younger days.  I found myself humming it the next few days.  When I reflected on why it touched me so, I realized the refrain of the song: ‘Follow me, where I go, what I do, and who I know, make it part of you to be a part of me. Follow me up and down all the way and all around.  Take my hand and say you’ll follow me,’ was an invitation to follow Jesus. 

Also touching is the introduction to that song.  He sings, ‘It is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done, to be so in love with you and so alone.’  I always thought he was saying, ‘for so long.’     But either way it gave me pause because it speaks to me of the call to fidelity in life.   When I reflected on the song as a whole it seemed it could be a dialogue between two lovers. Which one is ‘so alone’? 

To me, it sounds like both; it is hard for each one to be in love and longing for the other, wanting to ‘make it part of you to be a part of me’ and trying to figure out how, despite difficulties, to find a way to be together. The last line of the song resolves the situation by one surrendering to the other.  Before, one was saying to the other ‘take my hand and say you’ll follow me’ but now the one says, ‘Take my hand and I will follow you.’ 

The invitation to follow in any relationship, including our relationship with God, always comes with a call to surrender.  Even Jesus, the Man-God, surrendered his life to the Father – think of Jesus in the Garden saying, ‘Not as I will but as you will.’ Lk 22: 42   Jesus gave his all for love – love for God and love for you and me. 

Being visual person, an image came to my mind to illustrate this invitation to follow Jesus.   The statue in front of our monastery in Foggia, Italy is entitled, ‘The Wayfarer;’ one of Blessed Celeste’s favorite titles for our Holy Redeemer.  The statue of the Wayfarer portrays Jesus standing there with arms outstretched.  What does his stance say to me, to you?

To me it looks like he is about to place his hands around my shoulder, and on the shoulder of who ever is on the other side: you, you, you…each one of you. That made me think of a yoke; as in Jesus saying, ‘Come to me all who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest, take up my yoke and learn for me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.’  Mt. 11:28   Earlier in July we heard this Gospel read on Sunday.  From it I heard an invitation.

I reflected on the image of the yoke. I’ve only seen pictures of a yoke of oxen. The yoke is a curved piece of wood that fits over the shoulders of two draft animals so they can work together.  That is what Jesus is like: He is the yoke that holds us together and guides our lives in a gentle manner; not by force but by love and an invitation to go with him, follow him.

Jesus, the Wayfarer was the love of Celeste’s life! She followed him in her own time and place. Our call, as Redemptoristine Nuns, and yours, is the same.  Our constitutions say, ‘The more we strive to live the love of Christ, the more the thoughts and feelings of Christ will fill our spirit and our heart, the more we will become His faithful images and the more also we will be able to be true witnesses of the love of Him who is our Beginning and our End, our Way and our Life.’  (Associate Constitutions #5)

Like Celeste, let us each be a ‘Viva Memoria,’ the living memory of Jesus the Wayfarer/ the Redeemer to be a participant in God’s loving plan of redemption.

Do you hear the invitation?

Follow me where I go

What I do and who I know;

Make it part of you to be a part of me.

Follow me up and down all the way
Take my hand and I will follow you.