My own eyes have seen

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine
Secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium,
Et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

“Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.”
(Luke 2:29-32 - from today's Gospel)

Nativity

When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:4-7
2nd reading - Mass at Dawn

(from a previous post)

The night before Christmas

When the sun rises in the morning sky,
you will see the King of Kings...

from the Magnificat Antiphon for tonight's Vespers

(from a previous post)

O God-with-us

our King and Lawgiver,
Desire of all nations
and their Salvation:
Come
and save us,
O Lord our God.

O Emmanuel,
Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio gentium,
et Salvator earum:
veni
ad salvandum nos
Domine Deus noster.

"O" Antiphon for tonight's Vespers

(from a previous post)

O King of Nations and their Desire

the Cornerstone,
who makest both one:
Come
and save mankind,
whom you formed from the clay.

O Rex genitum et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis,
qui facis utraque unum:
veni,
et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.

"O" Antiphon for tonight's Vespers

(from a previous post)

O dawn of the east

brightness of light eternal,
and sun of justice:
come,
and enlighten those
who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death.


O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae,
et sol iustitiae:
veni,
et illumina
sedentes in tenebris
et umbra mortis.

"O" Antiphon for tonight's Vespers
Translation: Fr. Z

(from a previous post)

O Key of David

and scepter of the house of Israel,
who opens and no man shuts,
who shuts and no man opens:
come,
and bring out the captive from the prison house:
he who sits in darkness
and the shadow of death.

O clavis David,
et sceptrum domus Israel:
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni,
et educ vinctum de domo carceris:
sedentem in tenebris
et umbra mortis.

"O" Antiphon for tonight's Vespers

(from a previous post)

O Root of Jesse

who stands as a sign for the people,
before whom kings shall close their mouths
and to whom the Gentiles shall plead:
come,
to deliver us,
and do not delay.

O Radix Jesse,
qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem gentes deprecabuntur:
veni
ad liberandum nos,
iam noli tardare.

"O" Antiphon for tonight's Vespers

(from a previous post)

O Lord and Ruler of the house of Israel

who to Moses
in the flame of the burning bush appeared
and to him on Sinai gave the law:
come,
and redeem us with outstretched arm.


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" Antiphon for tonight's Vespers

(from a previous post)

O Wisdom

who came from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from end to end
and ordering all things mightily and sweetly:
come,
and teach us the way of prudence.

O Sapientia,
quae ex ore Altissimi prodidisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviter disponensque omnia:
veni
ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

"O" Antiphon for tonight's Vespers

(from an earlier post)

We must then dig deeply in Christ

"He is like a rich mine
with many pockets containing treasures:
however deep we dig
we will never find their end or their limit.
Indeed, in every pocket
new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.

"For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ:
'In him are hidden
all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God.'
The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them,
unless it first crosses into and enters
the thicket of suffering,
enduring interior and exterior labours,
and unless it first receives from God
very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses,
and has undergone long spiritual training.

"All these are lesser things,
disposing the soul for the lofty sanctuary
of the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ:
this is the highest wisdom attainable in this life.

"Would that men might come at last
to see that it is quite impossible
to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God
except by first entering the thicket of much suffering,
in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire.

"The soul that longs for divine wisdom
chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.

"Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians
not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations,
but to be steadfast and rooted and grounded in love,
so that they may know with all the saints
the breadth, the length, the height and the depth
– to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ,
so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.

"The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom
is the cross;
because it is a narrow gate,
while many seek the joys that can be gained through it,
it is given to few to desire to pass through it."
from a Spiritual Canticle
by Saint John of the Cross
(adapted from an earlier post)

When no one listens...

"When no one listens to me any more,
God still listens to me.

"When I can no longer talk to anyone
or call upon anyone,
I can always talk to God.

"When there is no longer anyone
to help me deal with a need or expectation
that goes beyond the human capacity for hope,
he can help me.

"When I have been plunged
into complete solitude...;
if I pray,
I am never totally alone."

from Spe Salvi, 32
the latest Encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI