CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 6: O Rising dawn

21st December: O Rising dawn

O Morning Star,
Splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on Isaiah 9:2 and Isaiah 60:1-2, the title in Latin O Oriens, actually means literally O Rising Sun or Dawn, but for poetic sense translated as Morning Star, refers to the power of God's light to lead us from ignorance to knowledge and from mere knowledge to enlightenment.

The Symbol is the Rising Sun, which dispels the darkness of the night and wakes the light of the morning, inviting all to life and activity. The coming of the Lord for us is a wake up call, an invitation to live as people of the light and not of darkness!

Today we see people disputing with each other, clamouring to be right in contrast to another, remain divided among themselves because of their allegiance to someone or some ideology - are they really certain where lies the real truth? Even within the Church today we see people polarising themselves, unnecessarily for the sake of some ideologies and philosophies - Apostle Paul warned us long back - do not be deceived by all these ideologies and philosophies, cling on to Christ and Christ alone is the enlightenment of God, who can clarify the real truths of our life.

The prayer is for enlightenment, that in these times of confusion and crisis, confounding choices and staggering philosophies, we might remain always in the light of faith, that not only helps us see the Lord, but see with the eyes of the Lord (Lumen Fidei).

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 5: O Key of David

20th December: O Key of David

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on Isaiah 22:22, Isaiah 9:7 and Isaiah 42:7, the reference is to the sovereignty of God's Reign. That the throne shall have no end is a Messianic prophecy that, God will be established the Lord of history! Liberation of the oppressed and the fullness of life of all, is the sign of the Reign.

The symbol is the key to signify the authority that the Lord has, in creating, changing and structuring the whole history. It also signifies the perfect control that God has over time and space, life and being, but all these understood not in terms of domination but a love that creates and sustains.

Evil is real! Let us not deceive ourselves thinking it is imaginary, no it is real and the evil one is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. This is not a matter to be worried about, as long as we commit ourselves to the One key, which alone can open or close time, space or history - the Lord! Liberation, we think has to come from afar. But it is already given to us by the Lord, we just need to choose it! When we choose the key to liberation, we choose liberation!

The prayer is for liberation... to be led towards fullness of life that is the experience of the Reign on earth. It is also a commitment to work towards, to contribute one's might and mite, to choose with all our heart and our strength, the Lord, the key to fullness, towards establishing the Reign here and now!

The Reign - constant presence of God

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Saturday in Advent - December 20, 2025

Judges 13: 2-7, 24-25; Luke 1: 26-38

 

Like the light that shines all over and enters every corner, does God fill this creation and especially our lives. 'Emmanuel' is the best self-definition and natural description that God can have. And what we are about celebrate in a few days, is the highest of the manifestations of Godself to humanity - and a manifestation in the most understandable terms - God becoming human, God with us, and God as one of us. 

The promise and the fulfilment - that is what we reflect today in the Word. The Reign is about the promises of the Lord, we have reflected that more that a few times this season of Advent. The promise of God's closeness to us - I shall be with you, I shall never forsake you, my hand shall not leave you... these promises are realised, not just in history, but everyday today affirms the Word.

God does not say, call upon me and I shall come... for the Lord is all the time with us. This is the reason the prophets tell us: when the poor man cries, the Lord hears; when you call upong the Lord, the Lord answers... for the Lord is right there beside us. The feast of Christmas that we are preparing ourselves towards, is a fulfilment of that promise reminding us that the presence of the Lord is a constant in our lives. 

Hence, the Reign that we wish for is not something that has to enter from somewhere! It is right amidst us as Jesus reminded us... because it is practically the presence of God with us. Being there all the time with us, to wish the Reign comes is to wish that each one realises the presence of it and regard that presence making a difference in our daily lives. 

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 4: O Root of Jesse

19th December: O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Based on Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 11:10, the title Root of Jesse, refers to the promise of the Lord to raise the Messiah from the line of David (the son of Jesse). It is a promise of deliverance that the Lord gives the people of Israel, and to everyone who believes in the Lord.

The Symbol is that of the shoot flowering... signalling the hope that the Lord offers in times when everything seems dark and dead. Look at the exodus event, the miracles in the desert, the water from the rock, the guidance by day and night - everyone of these was a sign of God's promises being fulfilled. The final fulfillment and the pinnacle of everything was - Incarnation, that which we are preparing to celebrate.

Promises of the Lord will never fail... it may look like it, but things will change. There may be enemies plotting around, there may be situations that go out of control and there may be evil all around me - I will give up and compromise when I think there is no hope. But when here is hope, when I stand on the promises of the Lord, I will never give up!

The prayer today is to reinforce that HOPE...that we may always look forward to the deliverance that the Lord can offer! Note that the readings of the liturgy too relate to the same sense of hope in the Lord who accomplishes marvels for us! Never let anyone rob you of your hope, reminds our Holy Father.

The Reign - Promise of New things!

THE WORD  IN ADVENT

Third Friday in Advent - December 19, 2025

Judges 13: 2, 7, 24-25; Luke 1: 5-25

Today the Word presents to us two promises made... both of which amount to a categorical sense of the Reign! The are promises of the Reign... promises of new things that God is doing for each of us. 

First of all they are promises of dignity - be it Samson's mother or Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, they were subject to disregard and despise in the society for no fault of theirs. Their very dignity was at stake due to what they were not able to accomplish - an undue expectation justified by the society... the promise they receive amounts to clear them from that cloud of objectification, offering them a sense of dignity before the world. This is typically a Reign-promise.

Secondly, it shines out as a promise of fullness - regardless of what the society labelled them or pressurised them with, there would have been a sense of incompleteness within them, an aspiration that they could not realise, although "normally" they should have been able to. A sense of incompetence, or a sense of being less-fortunate would have tormented them. The promise that comes today, offers them the hope of fullness, a sense of accomplishment. We see another characteristic of a Reign-promise - offering the possibility of fullness, a sense of fulfilment. 

Thirdly, the promise grants them a new identity: from a woman not even named in the passage, she is raised to an identity of the mother of Samson, a great Judge over Israel; from a title of being a barren woman, Elizabeth becomes the mother of the one who was called "the greatest of all born of women". A Reign-promise changes one's identity, enhances it and takes it a totally new plane. 

The Reign is a promise in itself - offering each of us, especially those who are in an earnest seeking, a sense of dignity, a sense of fullness, a new identity, the identity of being new creations. Yes, the Reign is in itself a promise to humanity, a promise to each of us - a promise of new things!

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 3 : O Adonai

Day 3 - December 18: O Adonai...

O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Based on Isaiah 11:45 and Isaiah 33:22, the title Adonai, refers to the Lordship of Yahweh, that the people of Israel always stressed on. From a generic universal history that yesterday's "Wisdom" reminded us of, today's "Adonai" comes down to the particular experience of Exodus, the watershed of the Spirituality of the people of Israel.

The Symbols are burning bush, to remind the experience when Moses surrendered to Yahweh and the stone tablets of the commandments, the symbol of Israel's surrender to Yahweh. What is stressed is the Lordship of Yahweh, which is the key to the God-experience of the Israel and our faith-experience today.

The Lord of Israel, our God is Supreme over all beings of the earth or the heavens, the Lord of history and the Lord of the future. This is nothing that God would insist on holding on to, because God stands to gain nothing whether we accept or reject God's losrdship; it is we who stand to gain or lose! When we accept the Lordship of the Creator, we find meaning, significance and purpose in everything that happens in our life; when we do not surrender, every bit of what happens can become a concern and a cause for sadness and dissatisfaction. Hence the call is to Surrender, to the lordship of the Lord.

The prayer today is that of a SURRENDER... into the redeeming power of God, to be led by the Lord's hands always - from darkness to light, from folly to wisdom, from death to life!

Branches of justice...all for the Reign!

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Thursday in Advent - December 18, 2025

Jeremiah 23: 5-8; Matthew 1: 18-24

Getting closer to the great event of Christmas, the Word introduces  us to the person of Joseph - the son of David, the heir of David chosen for the coming of the Son of God, the just man chosen for the rise of the branch of justice from David. 

The name of David repeats itself in the Word today - and we know the significance of that person in the history of Israel... apart from Moses whom God called a "friend", David is the only person that God expressed a sense of belonging calling him "my servant" (see 1 Kings 11). Because, in spite of his weaknesses and fragility, David's filial attachment to God never diminished from the beginning till the end. That is why he shines as the epitome of God's promises.

The virtue of justice is referred to constantly today - not in the sense of justice and injustice but in the sense of being virtuous. Here it means being attached to God, choosing God above all, and doing everything from the perspective of God, the summum bonum. Virtuosity hence is godliness, that is being mindful of God and being led by God in all.

Joseph is brought to light against this background - that of David and that of justice. Joseph, the son of David, just man: just man because he was totally by the side of God. What God wanted he carried out, not counting the trouble nor seeking his comfort or convenience. He knew he was on the right, when he was on the side of God. 

As pilgrims of hope, with the Reign as our hope, we are called too - to choose the Reign, to stand by the Reign and dedicate our life and mission, all for the Reign.  

WISDOM - the Promise of the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Wednesday in Advent - December 17, 2025

Genesis 49: 2, 8-10; Matthew 1: 1-17

The joy of the Reign consists in the unfailing promise of God, the eternal faithfulness of God - the Sacrament of this promise is the Wisdom that comes as a fulfilment of the promise to the generations... Jesus Christ who comes in our midst, as one among us, born in the lineage of the humans to save the entire humanity, beyond any lineage or generation! 

Wisdom of the Most High, who comes to teach us the way of truth is the eternal promise of God. The Reign is this promise made concrete... it may look utopian or too ideal to be true, but it is the test of truth that we have; the proof of our faith; the exercise of our hope. It is the promise of God, that God will never leave or abandon us, especially when the times get rough or tough. 

The Genealogy presented in the Gospel passage today, leaves us wondering whether it can really be true - the continuity that is observed here. But that is not the message! The message is - what is happening is the fulfilment of the word of the Lord, the Wisdom that alone can save humanity was promised at the beginning and it is here, very close to us, right amidst us. 

The moment we accept the sovereignty of Wisdom, and acknowledge the presence at work amidst us, we shall experience the joy of the Reign... the salvific experience of the God with us. Wisdom is the way of truth, and we are given with the possibility of accessing it - that is already a great sign of hope, a great promise of the Reign. 

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 2 : O Wisdom!

Day 2 - December 17: O Sapientia...

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High

reaching from one end to the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Based on Isaiah 11:2-3 and Isaiah 28:29... the antiphon recalls the most popular attribute given to the Spirit of the Lord and the Word of God which is seen active in creation and order of the universe. It is this Word, who becomes flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14).

The Symbol used is often...the eye within the triangle, which symbolises the Omniscient God...the Wisdom of God. The Jewish or the Davidic lampstand (with 7 sticks) is used to refer to the Wisdom of God which has accompanied the people of God right from the origins of history!

Wisdom, we know is slightly different from knowledge and could be even considered a level higher, because even a person who lack the so-called knowledge may possess the finest wisdom, while a person with all possible knowledge may prove miserably unwise! Wisdom would be that capacity to not just know, but to use what we know at the right moment in the apt manner. In our daily decision-making it amounts to actually, prudence!

The Prayer today is for PRUDENCE... to be guided always by the Lord, the Lord who dwells among us.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - a tradition so lovely

Day 1: December 16

Novena...'O' Antiphons...Oh what a Tradition we have!!! 

Naturally the last days of the Christmas preparation are a great excitement...

The Church has a beautiful tradition of
the Novena in preparation of this wonderful festival of LOVE...

And within this novena...
leaving out the first day and the last day...
there are 7 verses from the prophecies from the Old Testament (Isaiah)
which announce the coming of the Lord's Messiah...they are named "O" Antiphons.
each of these antiphons, so meaningful and beautiful...

We pray them as Antiphons before the Gospel at the Eucharist these days...
those who pray the daily prayer of the Church (Breviary) pray it in the evening
with the hymn of our blessed mother, the Magnificat.

16th of December begins the Novena...
on this day, the antiphon, though not an O Antiphon...
sets the tone for the next 9 days...

WE BEGIN A SPECIAL SEASON OF WAITING FOR AN IMMINENT COMING OF THE LORD