Since
December 25th falls on Sunday this year, Advent is as long as it can
be. We take advantage of that extra week to present some reflections on the
Mass entrance antiphons for the four Sundays of Advent.
First Sunday of Advent
The season begins
with the Ad te levavi , the first verses of Psalms 25: “ To you I
have lifted up my soul; My God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame, nor
let my enemies rejoice over me; let all those who trust in you not be
confounded. O Lord, show me your ways, lead me in your paths.”
This
antiphon sends us on our Advent journey very realistically. Enemies, shame, and
confusion are real, but our Lord does not leave us without his help and
guidance. There is also a movement from and individual point of view to
invoking God’s help for all who trust in him. The watchwords are trust and way.
Second Sunday of Advent
The prophet of the
season, Isaiah, now makes his appearance in the Sunday antiphons, in a free
combination of verses 19 and 30 from his chapter 30. “People of Zion, behold,
the Lord will come to save the nations, and the Lord will make the glory of his
voice heard in the joy of your heart.”
Although
the prophetic voice addresses the people of Zion, it announces universal
salvation, carrying on the communal theme of the first week. Just what is “the
glory of his voice”? How can it be made audible in the joy of our hearts? Will
it perhaps be made more audible, the more joyful our hearts become? Perhaps
resting in deep joy at God’s coming can help more people to hear the Lord’s
voice and its glory.
Third Sunday of Advent
This is Gaudete
Sunday, taking its name from the opening words of the entrance antiphon:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known
to all people; the Lord is near. Be worried over nothing, but let your prayers
and petitions be known before God.”
These beautiful words
from Paul’s letter to the Philippians exhort us to trust in God’s nearness. If
God is close by, there is no reason to worry, so rejoice! As in our antiphon
for the Second Sunday, perhaps the more wholeheartedly we rejoice, the more
clearly God’s voice will be heard, and his nearness recognized by others.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
This
Sunday’s antiphon has also made its opening words famous: Rorate caeli: “Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the
clouds rain down justice; let the earth be opened, and let the salvation spring
up.”
Another
way of translating this thought from Isaiah 45:8 is to personify the objects of
the verbs. Thus we ask the clouds to rain down the Just One, that the earth may
bring forth the Savior. In either case, the vivid agricultural imagery invites
us to meditate on the collaboration of heaven and earth, for our spiritual
well-being as well as for our physical survival. God’s grace invigorates our
souls just as the rain brings growth to the arid soil. We continue to trust
that God will supply grace, and we pray that we may be open and “porous” enough
to receive it, that we may help salvation to germinate throughout the world.
