O Antiphon
Dec 22: Rex, "Ruler"
O Ruler of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of humankind, come and save the creatures you fashioned from the dust.
Dec 22: Rex, "Ruler"
O Ruler of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of humankind, come and save the creatures you fashioned from the dust.
Peace is not placidity: peace is
The power to endure the megatron of pain
With joy, the silent thunder of release,
The ordering of Love. Peace is the atom’s start,
The primal image: God within the heart.
--Madeleine L'Engle
The power to endure the megatron of pain
With joy, the silent thunder of release,
The ordering of Love. Peace is the atom’s start,
The primal image: God within the heart.
--Madeleine L'Engle
O blessed Jesus, give me stillness of soul in You. Let your mighty calmness reign in me. Rule me, O King of Gentleness, King of Peace.
--St John of the Cross
--St John of the Cross
I love "Rex" with its paradoxical twists, "desire" and "peace," in the antiphon today. In the ancient world, all rulers were men of war. To appropriate Jesus as Rex, the Caesar of our Heart's Desire, of Peace and Joy, was a radical move on the part of early Christians!
The antiphon reminds us that we are all one -- being fashioned by God, and are destined for the oneness of joy, that which our hearts have longed for. This "Rex" will not oppress us, but, instead, liberates us for the life we were meant for -- peace.
