New Year's Eve/Eve of Holy Name Day

                                                                     Revelation 21:5

”See, 
I am mak-
ing all things new.” 

Tuesday, the last day of 2013 and the 7th day of Christmas

                        Psalm 48:7a & the Christmas antiphon 

As

we 

have 

heard 

so 

we 

have 

seen 

Emmanuel God with us. 

                      

                     

                                

                            

                                 The other 6 swans are upriver

                                                                        

Monday, the sixth day of Christmas

    Psalm 20:1,2,4

May the Lord answer you 

in the day 

of trouble, 

strengthen you, 

and  grant 

you your 

heart’s desire. 

               

                Rest in Peace, 

                Loren Nancarrow

My all time favorite Channel 10 weather man died of brain cancer Sat. 12/28, age 60.

Sunday Evening Prayer

  Psalm 34a:4 Colossians 1:18

Look upon him and be radiant for him in him the fullness 
of God was pleased to dwell. 

The First Sunday after Christmas, the 5th day of Christmas

     Christmas Antiphon on Psalm 93

Ever 

since 

the 

world 

was made, 

your throne, O Lord,  

has been established.

The reason why Jesus was not killed in the massacre of The innocents by King Herod….

                                                                                Matthew 2:13

An angel 

of the Lord 
[had] appeared 
to Joseph 
in a dream
& said 
“Get up,
 take the child,
 and his mother 
& flee to Egypt.” 

Holy Innocents Day

                             Collect for Holy Innocents Day 

Receive into the arms 

of your mercy all in-nocent victims and by your might 

frustrate  the designs of 

all evil tyrants, and establish 

your rule of justice, love and peace. 

The Feast of St John

                              Christmas antiphon on the Benedictus 

God 

has 

raised up for us a mighty savior, born 

of the 

house of his servant David, alleluia. 

A random but beloved quote

                    Margaret Frazer, creator of the Sr Fidelma mysteries, 

                                                                              from  The Traitors Tale 

You may have come 
by
stub-born selfwill to be a nun, but one of the great goals of your nunhood is to  learn to give up that 
self that willed you here. 

which translates really easily

You may have come to this place by stubborn self will, but one of the great goals of life is to learn 
to give up that self that willed you here. 

Evening Prayer Psalm

   Psalm 118:27

God 

the 

Lord 

has 

shined 

upon 

us...

St Stephen, Deacon and Marty. The first person, but not the last, to be martyred for following Jesus.

  Jay Parini , Jesus, the Human Face of God

Christianity 

is a 

way of being 

in the world. 

Alexander Tuttle during the Christmas preparations in 2012

Ok, so maybe these are two morning doves rather turtledoves...  It’s the thought that counts.

Christmas Evening Prayer

                                             I John 4:8

         

          Whoever 

          does 

          not 

          love 

          does 

          not 

          know 

          God, 

          for 

          God is love. 

Still Christmas Day

                                   Christmas antiphon on the Benedictus 

Glory

to God 

in the 

highest and peace to his people on earth, alleluia.

Christmas Day

                                              Christmas antiphon on Psalm 85

                   Truth has sprung up from the earth,

     & righteousness has looked down from heaven. 

The Eve of Christmas

                                        Antiphon on the Magnificat
                                                      for Christmas Eve 

To 
us 
a 
child 
is born, 
to us a 
son is 
given, 
and he 
shall 
be 
called 
the Prince of Peace, alleluia. 

Christmas Eve Day

     Psalm 46:9

Come 

now 

and look  

upon the 

works of 

the Lord, 

what awe-

some things

he has done 
in all the earth.  

O Antiphon Dec 23

                                                         December 23 

O Emmanuel

our King 

& Lawgiver, 

the Desire 

of all nations 

& their 

Salvation:

Come 

and save us, O Lord, our God.     

December 23

   Psalm 62:6

For

God 

alone 

my 

soul in 

silence 

waits, 

truly 

my hope 

is in him. 

On the countdown toward Christmas, this one’s for Sr Electa, ODC (Not THAT kind of OCD - the Order of Discalced Carmelites!) who recently celebrated her sapphire jubilee (that's SIXTY-FIVE YEARS!) of entry into Carmel!

   Psalm 84:9

For one 

day in 

your 

courts 

is better 

than a thousand 

in my 
own room

O Antiphon for Dec 22

                 


     O King of the nations 

            and their Desire,   

                 you are the cornerstone 

    that makes us    

both one:

      Come 
               and save
the creatures 

whom you  
               fashioned from clay.

Midday

                                                                   Collect of the Day

May 
your 
Son, 
at his 
coming, 
find 
in us a 
mansion 
prepared  for himself. 

The Fourth (and last) Sunday of Advent

                                 Advent antiphon on the Venite

Our King and Savior now draws near: 

Come, let us adore him. 

O Antiphon on the Magnificat for 21 December

O Dayspring, 

Brightness 

of the Light eternal, & Sun of Right-

eousness: 

Come & enlighten those who sit in 

darkness & the shadow of death.

The Feast of St Thomas, Apostle

                                                                      Matthew 26:31-56*

When 

the 

Son 

of 

Man 

comes 

in his 

glory,  he will... separate people from one another 

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the

goats…  Then the king will say “Just as you 

have treated the least of these who 

are members of my household, 

so you have treated me.

*The LJB Translation

Last night's O Antiphon

O Key 

of David,

& Scepter of the house 

of Israel,  

you open & no one can shut, you shut & no one can open:  Come 

& bring the captives 

out of the prison house, those who 

sit in darkness and the shadow of death. 

Today the Roman calendar remembers Origen (c184-253) "the greatest theologian of the early Greek Church."

                                                      Zechariah 8:6

Even though it seems

im-possible

...in these days, should it also be 
impossible for me, says the Lord of hosts?   

O Antiphon December 19

O Root 

of Jesse, 

you stand 

as an ensign

to the peoples,

before you 

kings will 

shut their mouths, 

and nations bow in worship;

       Come and deliver us and tarry not.  

Thursday

                                                      Psalm 50:1,2

The Lord,
the God 

of gods, 
has spoken; 
he has called 
the earth
from the rising
of the sun
to it’s setting.  
Out of Zion, 
prefect in beauty, 
God reveals himself in glory.

Evening Prayer Dec 18

                                                  Tonight’s O Antiphon

O Adonai, 
& Leader of the house 
of David, 
you appeared 

in the bush to Moses in a flame of fire, and gave him the law on Sinai:  Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm. 

     

     

     

Today is one of three Ember Days that come after the feast of St Lucy on Dec 13. Pray for the ministry of the church.

   Psalm 119:49

Remember 

your 

word 

to 

your 

servant, 

because 

you have given me hope. 

To my mind, one of the most astounding sentences in the New Testament is: “And the angel departed.” And there Mary was, pregnant, unmarried, alone.  Elizabeth knew, in time, that she was carrying  the Son of God. And thank goodness Joseph knew, having been reassured by an angel. (How could she have ever explained?!)  I imagine Mary praying, hanging on to these words through the long  months of her pregnancy, through the uncomfortable trip to Bethlehem and the birth on that cold night But  it didn't end there - through the years of  his growing up, through the years of his ministry,  and finally thorough the excruciating death she watched him endure,. In the darkness, don’t you think she wondered “The angel said what?” And so each of us struggles with the knowledge of what is ours alone to do and we each pray in our own heart “Remember your word to me. You have given me hope, now give me strength to see it through wherever it leads.... .” 

First O Antiphon of Advent 2013! Antiphon on the Magnificat for Dec 17, the night of the fun moon

                                                 O Antiphon for today 

O Wisdom, 
you came 
forth 
from the 
mouth 
of the 
Most High, 
and reach 
from one 
end of the 
earth to 
the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence. 

Today the Roman Catholic calendar commemorates Lazarus, who Jesus raised from the dead

                           Matthew 24:37.42

as 
the 
days 
of 
Noah 
were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Keep awake, therefore... 

Monday

  Advent antiphon on Canticle 9 

I 

will 

look 

to 

the 

Lord, 

I will 

wait 

for 

the 

God 

of

my 

salvation. 

      I will look ...I will wait 

The Third Sunday of Advent

                                     Advent Antiphon in the Bendictus

In the tender 

compassion 
of our God 
the dawn 
from on 
high shall
break upon us.

Eve of Third Advent

   Psalm 42: 10

The Lord 

grants his 

loving-kindness 

in the daytime; 

in the night season 

his song is with me, 

a prayer to the 

God of my life.

John of the Cross ( 1542-1591) Carmelite monk,mystic, guide, and reformer of the church

  Psalm  30:6

Weeping 

may 

spend 

the 

night, 

but 

joy 

come

in the 

morning. 

“Grant, that 

when all is dark,

 we may wait patiently 

for the light, 

and in the silence

listen for your voice, 

and in all things trust 

in the promises 

of Jesus Christ our Lord...” (Collect) 

Evening of Friday the 13th

                                                                                            Revelation 2:28

To the 

one who 

conquers 

I will 

also 

give 

the morning star.