ETERNAL WISDOM
"Never leave your house without making the sign of the cross. It will be to you a staff, a weapon, an impregnable fortress. Neither man nor demon will dare to attack you, seeing you covered with such powerful armor. Let this sign teach you that you are a soldier, ready to combat against the demons, and ready to fight for the crown of justice. Are you ignorant of what the cross has done? It has vanquished death, destroyed sin, emptied hell, dethroned Satan, and restored the universe. Would you then doubt its power?"
St. John Chrysostom, 4th-century Preacher and Patriarch of Constantinople
“I see these souls in the sufferings of purgatory and discern two effects: The first one is that they bear these sufferings willingly and that they believe, when considering their guilt and God’s infinite
greatness, that God has exercised great mercy in their regard . . . The other effect is the joy they experience when considering the disposition God made in their regard, who acted only with the
greatest love and mercy toward them.”
St. Catherine of Genoa, “Treatise on Purgatory,” Chapter 16 THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST NEWSLETTER | 2nd EDITION1
December 17th begins the time of the great "O Antiphons”.
Each of us can accompany Our Lady from December 17-23 by praying joyfully the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer:
this “magnificent theology” employs “ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well.” The repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah.”2
December 17: O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!
December 18: O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
December 19: O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!
December 20: O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!
December 21: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.
December 22: O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
December 23: O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!
A CHRISTMAS “DECADE ROSARY” LED BY FR. ANTHONY GRAMLICH
In the days leading up to Christmas, we all have the opportunity to remind others about the joy of praying the Joyful Mysteries.
How can we invite them to rediscover the 3rd Joyful Mystery: “The Nativity”?
Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC, Assistant Rector of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy returned to the Rosary Hour Podcast on December 8th, 2024 to help us help others experience ‘True Joy’ at Christmas for this “Rosary Family Broadcast”.
[Note: A longer subtitled version will be available on YouTube by Dec. 24 Consecration Day. Thanks also to the Franciscans of the Immaculate — Fr. Elias Mary Mills, Fr. Josemaria; Dr. Blythe Kaufman from Children’s Rosary; Fr. David Michael Moses, from Pilgrim Rosary; Fr. Nuno Rocha (Portugal); Fr. Nahm and Fr. Turrone (Canada) and Fr. Thaddaeus from the Seminary in Steubenville, and Fr. Chris Alar for assisting us in 2023 and 2024 with presenting this Rosary Family invitation to prayer].
Please click above to watch the video and share with others this Rosary decade to remind them of why Jesus was born into the world.
FR. ELIAS TEACHES OUR LISTENERS THE “O ANTIPHONS”
Link to a *new audio broadcast* led by Fr. Elias Mary Mills, FI who returned this past weekend to provide another quick audio lesson by explaining to all children of God “how-to-pray” and “why-to-pray” all of the “O Antiphons”.
Click the play button below to invite others to begin this beautiful tradition:
RHP Breviary FOR DEC 17
Reformatted for substack from iBreviary for educational use only purposes
EVENING PRAYER
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom God’s love commits me here,
Ever this night, be at my side,
To light, to guard, to rule, and guide.
Amen3
INTRODUCTION
O God, + come to my assistance.
— O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
What Child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
Chorus:
This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
2 Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
[Chorus]
3 So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
[Chorus]
Baptist Hymnal, (2008)
PSALMODY
Antiphon 1: The Lord will come from his holy place to save his people.
Psalm 125: The Lord, guardian of his people
Peace to God’s true Israel (Galatians 6:16).
Those who put their trust in the Lord †
are like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken, *
that stands for ever.
Jerusalem! The mountains surround her, †
so the Lord surrounds his people *
both now and for ever.
For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest *
over the land of the just
for fear that the hands of the just *
should turn to evil.
Do good, Lord, to those who are good, *
to the upright of heart;
but the crooked and those who do evil, *
drive them away!
On Israel, peace!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Surround your people, Lord, within the safety of your Church, which you preserve on its rock foundation. Do not let us stretch out our hands to evil deeds, nor be destroyed by the insidious snares of the enemy, but bring us to share the lot of the saints in light.
Antiphon: The Lord will come from his holy place to save his people.
Antiphon 2: Zion is our mighty citadel, our saving Lord its wall and its defense; throw open the gates, for our God is here among us.
Psalm 131: Childlike trust in God
Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29).
O Lord, my heart is not proud *
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great *
nor marvels beyond me.
Truly I have set my soul *
in silence and peace.
As a child has rest in its mother’s arms, *
even so my soul.
O Israel, hope in the Lord *
both now and for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, you declared that whoever receives a little child in your name receives you, and you promised your kingdom to those who are like children. Never let pride reign in our hearts, but may the Father’s compassion reward and embrace all who willingly bear your gentle yoke.
Antiphon 2: Zion is our mighty citadel, our saving Lord its wall and its defense; throw open the gates, for our God is here among us.
Antiphon 3: Lord, make known your will throughout the earth; proclaim your salvation to every nation.
Canticle: Revelation 4:11; 5:9, 10, 12
Redemption hymn
O Lord our God, you are worthy *
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you have created all things; *
by your will they came to be and were made.
Worthy are you, O Lord, *
to receive the scroll and break open its seals.
For you were slain; *
with your blood you purchased for God
men of every race and tongue, *
of every people and nation.
You made of them a kingdom, †
and priests to serve our God, *
and they shall reign on the earth.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain *
to receive power and riches,
wisdom and strength, *
honor and glory and praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Lord, make known your will throughout the earth; proclaim your salvation to every nation.
READING - 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, therefore he will do it.
RESPONSORY
Lord, show us your mercy and love.
— Lord, show us your mercy and love.
And grant us your salvation.
— Your mercy and love.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
— Lord, show us your mercy and love.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
The First O Antiphon:
O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.4
Canticle of Mary
Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the LordMy soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Antiphon:
O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.
INTERCESSIONS
Jesus Christ is the joy and happiness of all who look forward to his coming. Let us call upon him and say:
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
In joy, we wait for your coming,
— come, Lord Jesus.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
Before time began, you shared life with the Father,
— come now and save us.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You created the world and all who live in it,
— come to redeem the work of your hands.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You did not hesitate to become man, subject to death,
— come to free us from the power of death.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You came to give us life to the full,
— come and give us your unending life.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
You desire all people to live in love in your kingdom,
— come and bring together those who long to see you face to face.
Come, Lord, and do not delay!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
With longing for the coming of God’s kingdom, let us offer our prayer to the Father:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Father,
creator and redeemer of mankind,
you decreed, and your Word became man,
born of the Virgin Mary.
May we come to share the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share our human nature,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
Or:
O God, Creator and Redeemer of human nature,
who willed that your Word should take flesh
in an ever-virgin womb,
look with favor on our prayers,
that your only Begotten Son,
having taken to himself our humanity,
may be pleased to grant us a share in his divinity.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
DISMISSAL
If a priest or deacon presides, he dismisses the people:
The Lord be with you.
— And with your spirit.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
— Amen.
Another form of the blessing may be used, as at Mass.
Then he adds:
Go in peace.
— Thanks be to God.
In the absence of a priest or deacon and in individual recitation, Evening Prayer concludes:
May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.
Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall;
With the poor, the scorned, the lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.
And, through all his wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden
In whose gentle arms he lay:
Christian people all must be
Mild, obedient, good as he.
For he is our childhood’s pattern,
Day by day like us he grew;
He was little, weak and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us he knew.
And he feels for all our sadness,
And he shares in all our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see him,
Through his own redeeming love;
For that Child who seemed so helpless
Is our Lord in heaven above;
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing round,
We shall see him; but in heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars his children crowned,
All in white shall wait around.
Tune: Irby 87.87.87
Music: Henry John Gauntlett, 1805-1876
Text: Cecil Frances Alexander 1818-1895, alt.
Continue with the Psalmody
Or:
O quickly come, great Judge of all;
For glorious will your advent be,
All shadows from the truth will fall,
O come and heal that we may see!
O quickly come, for doubt and fear
Like clouds dissolve when you are near.
O quickly come, great King of all;
Reign all around us and within;
Let sin no more our souls enthrall,
Let pain and sorrow die with sin:
O quickly come, for you alone
Can make your scattered people one.
O quickly come, true Life of all,
For death is mighty all around;
On ev’ry home its shadows fall,
On ev’ry heart its mark is found:
O quickly come, for grief and pain
Cannot obscure your glorious reign.
O quickly come, sure Light of all,
For gloomy night broods o’er our way;
And weakened souls begin to fall
With weary watching for the day:
O quickly come, for round your throne
No eye is blind, no night is known.
Tune: Das Neugeborne Kindelein (Jena) or Melita (Dykes) 88.88.88.
Music: Melchior Vulpius, c. 1560-1616 (Jena) John Bacchus Dykes 1823-1876 (Dykes)
Text: Lawrence Tuttiette, 1825-1897, Hymns for Churchmen, 1854, alt
END WITH VENI, VENI EMMANUEL:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O wisdom from on high,
And order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O come, O Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times did give the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O rod of Jesse’s stem,
From ev’ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home,
Make safe the way that leads on high,
That we no more have cause to sigh.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, O Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadow put to flight.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of humankind;
Bid every strife and quarrel cease
And fill the world with heaven’s peace.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel!
Tune: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel 88.88 with Refrain
Music: Thomas Helmore, 1811-1890, adapted from a first Mode Responsory in a fifteenth century French Processional
Text: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, a paraphrase of the Latin twelfth-thirteenth century “Great O” antiphons in Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum
Translation: Thomas Helmore, 1811-1890, John Mason Neale, 1818-1866, and others
IN THE HEADLINES: “LA DOMENICA DEL CORRIERE”
On Saturday, October 31, 1942 Pope Pius II made an address in Fátima Portugal Venerable Brothers and beloved Children. Here is the article in “LA DOMENICA DEL CORRIERE” 28 ottobre 1951 Anno LIII - N 43.
Una straordinaria visione del Pap. Il cardinale Tedeschini, legato pontificio alle celebrazioni del santuario di Fatima (Portogallo), ha narrato che nell’ottobre 1950 Pio XII, mentre passeggiava da solo nei giardini vaticani, vide per tre volte, sostenendone senza pena lo splendore, il sole trasformarsi in un disco d’argento e mettersi a ruotare su se stresso, proiettando in tutte le direzioni iasci di luce con colori cangianti lo stesso meraviglioso fenomeno manifestatosi a varie persone parecchi anni ia, appunto nel paese di Fátima.
An extraordinary vision of Pope Cardinal Tedeschini, pontifical legate in the celebration of the sanctuary of Fátima (Portugal), tells the story of Pius XII in 1950, when passing alone through the Vatican, three times he saw, effortlessly sustaining its splendor, the sun transform into a silver disk and begin to rotate around itself, projecting streams of light with changing colors in all directions, the same marvelous phenomenon that had manifested itself to various people several years ago precisely in the town of Fátima.
OTHER SOURCES:
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/18124/holy-father-declares-world-war-ii-pope-is-venerable
SANCTUM ROSARIUM | A ROSARY IN LATIN
FOOTNOTES
An accidental cross-post was sent in error to subscribers at the 3:00 hour! We apologize for the reiteration, though the video has been updated and will be updated one more time with Fr. Thad Lancton’s prayers at the end after his Studio visit this Wednesday. Thank you for your patience as we resolve technical issues.
https://www.usccb.org/prayers/o-antiphons-advent
Notes from Maria Simma on the Guardian Angel here: https://archive.org/stream/MyExperiencesWithThePoorSouls/My%20Experiences%20With%20The%20Poor%20Souls_djvu.txt
Sister Emmanuel with Maria above.
