Advent can easily become a spiritual struggle when you have decorations, gifts, and Christmas preparations on your plate. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The Church helps us to intensify our efforts of prayer and spiritual preparation for Christmas starting on December 17.
From December 17 to the 23, the Church offers us the “O Antiphons” — short prayers that attribute Old Testament titles to Jesus and point to how they find their fulfillment in him. When you say each of these titles of Christ in Latin and put them in reverse order, the first letters reveal a hidden message and spell out the words ‘ERO CRAS’ — a Latin phrase that means, “Tomorrow, I will come.” These antiphons are recited during the Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. Let us reflect on each one to grow in joyful anticipation of Our Lord and prepare our hearts to receive him anew this Christmas.
Dec. 17
Is there order in my life?
ANTIPHON
“O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.”
EXPLANATION
This antiphon speaks to us of the beauty of creation. God created all things with order, strength and gentleness through his Word. This same creating Word has become flesh and has come to us to show us the way to salvation. He has come to touch the depths of our being, our problems, doubts, weaknesses, and difficult situations. He is the answer to our concerns. It is he who gives order to our scattered life.
MEDITATION
God created everything in order. Therefore, it is not surprising that we lose peace when something is out of order in our life. What aspects of my life do I need to tidy up? It may be something material like our room: the exterior also influences the interior. It may be our relationship with someone else. It may be our relationship with God. What is constantly taking his place in your life? What can you do to improve it? Identify an area or priority that needs to be put back in the right order of things and take a small step to fix it: make the bed, make that phone call, pray… And ask God to help you, in his wisdom, to bring order to your whole life. He has the power to untie the most complicated of knots. Trust in him.
PRAYER
Lord, you who have ordered everything firmly and gently, come and bring order to the corners of my life that are messy. Show me the way to salvation!
Dec. 18
Look at Jesus more than your sin
ANTIPHON
“O Adonai and Ruler of the house of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and on Mount Sinai gave him your Law. Come, and with an outstretched arm redeem us.”
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EXPLANATION
God chose the people of Israel to make himself known to all nations. The same God became flesh and came to deliver us with his mighty arm. Jesus is the true ruler they were waiting for, the one who came to deliver them from the power of sin. He indeed has the power to lift us up and redeem us from the darkness of sin that enslaves us.
MEDITATION
What are my weaknesses? What sin do I fall into continually? God gives us the grace to overcome sin, but how if it often seems impossible? While it is necessary to avoid all occasions of sin, we often make the mistake of staring more at our sin than at Jesus himself. The best way to overcome sin is to love Jesus more. When we truly love, we learn to hate and reject everything that separates us from our beloved. Today, fix your gaze on an image of Jesus and constantly tell him throughout the day how much you love him. Ask him to help you love him more.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you came to give us true freedom. Help me to love you with all my mind, soul, and body so that I may learn to reject everything that keeps me away from you. I trust in your love and mercy.
Dec. 19
Prayer – more than just a personal matter
ANTIPHON
“O Root of Jesse, you stand for the ensign of mankind; before you kings shall keep silence and to you all nations shall have recourse. Come, save us, and do not delay.”
EXPLANATION
The incarnation is a historical event: God was born into a specific family and land. He is fully human and one of us, and yet he is still God. He comes to save us from within. All nations and people have recourse to him because he understands our brokenness and has the power to restore us. Only he can give us the true freedom of the children of God, something no king, president or governor could ever do.
MEDITATION
How important is prayer to me? When spouses don’t make time for each other, their marriage fails. This obviously affects their children deeply. Likewise, when our relationship with God in prayer is non-existent, we are doomed to fail — we cannot be more than a shadow of the person God called us to be. This not only affects us, but also those around us. All we can offer is a spiritually impoverished father, mother, coworker…This is why prayer is not merely a personal matter. If prayer is not part of your daily life, commit to a few minutes a day. It is the way in which we allow God to work to transform us. If you already pray daily, what can you do to make it deeper?
PRAYER
O Jesus, you became man in all things except for sin. I ask you to help me be faithful to prayer, to transform me into the person you created me to be. I trust that you will work out your salvation in me and lead me to true freedom.
Dec. 20
Mercy transforms us
ANTIPHON
“O Key of David and Scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no man closes; you close and no man opens. Come, and deliver him from the chains of prison who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
EXPLANATION
Christ comes as king to take back the world from the power of Satan. He has the authority and power to free us from the slavery of sin and darkness. By his resurrection, he continues to do so today. He willed to give us the Sacrament of Confession and the Eucharist to carry on this work century after century. Through the sacraments, Christ still heals and transforms us.
MEDITATION
Do I truly believe that Jesus can give me freedom and fullness of life? Or do I see it as a distant reality, as if God only did great things for others but not me? Reflect on the Sacrament of Confession and the Eucharist. They are clear and efficient in breaking the chains of our sins. Have I been to confession during the Advent season? There is still time. Have I received the Eucharist without preparing my heart throughout the week? Prepare better. Ask God to reveal to you the areas of your life that are still in darkness and encounter his powerful grace through these sacraments.
PRAYER
Jesus, you are the key to real freedom. Lead me out of the darkness of sin and ignorance. Break my chains so that at my life’s end, I may confidently say: “There is nothing in me that is not yours.”
Dec. 21
What steals your joy?
ANTIPHON
“O Rising Dawn, Radiance of the Light eternal, and Sun of Justice. Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
EXPLANATION
Jesus’ birth brings hope and joy to sinners. This antiphon refers in part to the prophecy of Malachi: “The sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings; and you will go on leaping like calves from the stall” (Mal 3:20). It also alludes to the canticle of Zechariah: “The dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness” (Lk 1:78-79). Moreover, these words remind us of the joy of Christ’s coming and his message: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (Jn 15:11).
MEDITATION
Joy is much more than feeling happy. Real joy remains even in difficult times. It is firm because it is centered on a radical trust in Christ. The true disciple has Christ as a sun in the darkness, for he knows that “in all things, God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom 8:28). St. Paul and Silas are an example of this: After being beaten and imprisoned, they sang hymns to the Lord (Acts 16:23-25). What steals your joy? When something steals your joy today, ask Jesus, the true Sun, to enter into that darkness. Say to him: “Jesus, I trust in you”.
PRAYER
My Jesus, you shine your light on those who seek your face. I beg you to strengthen me in hope. Lord, in you I trust. Give me the joy of your salvation.
Dec. 22
What do you desire?
ANTIPHON
“O King of all nations and the Desired of all, you are the Cornerstone that binds two into one. Come, and save man whom you fashioned out of clay.”
EXPLANATION
Only Jesus can be the true “King of all nations” because the heart of every human being desires him from the moment they are born. Every human being desires happiness and fulfillment. Jesus is the only one who can fulfill this desire: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10).
MEDITATION
What do you seek? What is your greatest desire? We desire many things. Some of them are even contrary to others. Some are deeper and others superficial. The path to union with Christ, to real happiness, involves the purification of our desires. What desires keep me away from God? What desires promise me false happiness or fleeting pleasure? Ask God to help you identify those disordered desires and give you the grace to put them in order. Make a specific resolution to abstain from one disordered desire during Christmas time. Every time you are tempted to give into it, say to the Lord, “I choose you.”
PRAYER
Lord, you are the deepest longing of my heart. Purify my desires, order them toward you so that I may love you and know true joy.
Dec. 23
The moment of truth
ANTIPHON
“O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expected of the nations and their Savior: Come, and save us, O Lord our God.”
EXPLANATION
“Emmanuel” means “God with us.” Jesus has made himself vulnerable as a child. He has come to bear our suffering and has given himself in the greatest act of love by dying for us on the cross. He is the hope of every human being. He is the answer to all our questions and concerns. He is truth itself. And he has set the Church as a sign, as a light so that all nations may be saved.
MEDITATION
We have waited so long for the coming of our Redeemer! He will come at the end of time, but he comes to us now at every Mass in the Eucharist. It is there that he meets us. It is there that he renews our hope, that he touches us and transforms us. There can be no true Christmas celebration without Christmas Mass. Make a resolution to prepare yourself well to receive him in the Eucharist on Christmas Day. To prepare, you can meditate on the joyful mysteries of the Rosary, read the Mass readings beforehand or take extra time to center your heart before the Eucharistic celebration.
PRAYER
Lord, I pray for the Church and for our priests, that they may be witnesses of your love and truth before the world. Please, help me and my loved ones to prepare to receive you this Christmas in the Eucharist and in our daily lives. Transform our lives, Jesus. I love you, help me to love you more.
