O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare. In today’s antiphon we invoke Christ as the “root of Jesse”. A root recalls the foundations without which, life can not exist. It is the same too for us with reference […]
O Adonai, et dux domus Israël, qui Moysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuisti, et in Sinai legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento. We have exclaimed the Lord’s name, “O Adonai” or “O Lord”. This invocation is very beautiful. The citation of “O Adonai” at the start of this antiphon is amazing. […]
O Sapientia, quæ ex ore Altissimi prodisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviter disponensque omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiæ. O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care. Come and show your people the way of prudence. In our prayer today, we invoke the […]
Ecce Rex veniet Dominus terræ, et ipse auferet jugum captivitatis nostræ. Behold, the King will come, the Lord of the earth, and He will remove from us the yoke of our captivity. On the first day of Novena, the Lord is celebrated as King. He came to earth to establish the kingdom of the Father […]
Introduction to the Christmas Novena and the O Antiphons How can one explain the greatest, most singular event in human history? How can the extraordinary event of God becoming man in a Child be described? How do we account for the fact that God revealed His love in Jesus Christ? The Advent Liturgy invites us […]
The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday because, in the words of the entrance antiphon, we are called to, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” (Ph 4:4-5) In St Peter’s Square, Rome there is another tradition that emphasises the closeness of the Lord and brings […]
The Immaculate Conception and the Column in the Piazza di Spagna, Rome The column of the Immaculate Conception is situated next to the Piazza di Spagna in the adjacent Piazza Mignanelli in front of the Spanish Embassy in Rome near the Palace of the Propagation of the Faith. It was realised by the architect Luigi […]
Francesco Podesti (1800 –1895), the skilled painter and portrait artist, was entrusted with the task of realising a work to commemorate the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the Vatican. The work was to be frescoed onto the walls of the Borgia Tower, in a room that is adjacent to Raphael’s Fire […]
Each year, on the 1st Sunday of Advent, the Church heralds the start of a new year. A new year is often a time of ‘resolutions’, ‘new start’ or even renewal. The Church’s year is no different! As the Lord prepared Israel for the coming of the Messiah over the course of 4,000 years, it […]
Tota Pulchra Tota pulchra es Maria, et macula originalis non es in te. Tu gloria Ierusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri, tu advocata peccatorum. O Maria! O Maria! Virgo prudentissima, Mater clementissima, ora pro nobis, intercede pro nobis, ad Dominum Iesum Christum. You are all beautiful, Mary, and the stain of original sin […]