Happy Winter Solstice. I want to again thank you for the kind words you have sent in response to these e-mails. I didn't send Christmas cards -- I hope this is a suitable substitute.
Today is the shortest day of the year for those of us in the northern hemisphere. The O Antiphon for December 21 takes this natural phenomenon into account. In Latin first:
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.
Translated:
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.
The word Oriens is also translated sometimes as Dayspring. How appropriate that on this shortest day of the year we are given a prayer calling on the sun that rises in the east to give us light! Light and fire are often used as symbols of Christ in liturgy. Today we are reminded that Christ is coming to illuminate our lives and save us from the darkness of sin and evil and death.
My prayer for you today is that you are able to be a reflection of the light of Christ for those around you who are sad or lonely or in need during this Christmas season, and in doing so fill the darkness in your own life.
Finally, today's verse from O Come O Come Emmanuel:
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer,
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
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