O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
O Emmanuel, King and Master
all that you say and do
serves as instruction and for our salvation.
You teach us the right way (Mt 22:16);
You reveal to us the mystery of man…
You are our Lord and our Master (Jn 13:13)!
O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.
All peoples are waiting for you, O King of nations.
Deep down they know it:
There must be the One who truly loves us;
There must be the One whom we willingly serve,
There must be the One who does not take advantage of us for his own interests,
He who does not oppress us,
The One who can be trusted without reservation!
189th Meditation
“At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the ages” (Heb 1:1-2). Read More
O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those
who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
When Thou, O Sun of righteousness, arisest,
thus diffusing the uncreated light,
You pierce through all darkness
and everywhere comes life, true life.
188th Meditation
“Do not be afraid of your weakness, I am your strength” (Inner Word).
What true words! We humans like to be strong and to feel sure, but how often we experience that we are not. Sometimes we even have the impression that everything is crumbling under our feet. It seems that nothing can stop this world from jumping from one catastrophe to another. Political, social and even ecclesiastical realities are tottering, and man, in his weakness, feels powerless in the face of it all. Read More
O Key of David and Sceptre of the house of Israel,
Who dost open and no man doth shut,
Who dost shut and no man doth open,
come and bring forth from his prisonhouse
the captive that sitteth in darkness and in the shadow of death.
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18) – You say to us, O Key of David and Sceptre of the house of Israel.
You, the Lamb of God, were the only one worthy to open the Book and its seals (Rev 5:1-5).
187th Meditation on God the Father
We cannot yet behold God face to face. The beatific vision is reserved for eternity and will be an endless joy. However, even before that, our Father makes Himself known in many ways and, in an unsurpassable manner, He manifests Himself in His own Son: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). Read More
186th Meditation
“Those whom I love, I rebuke and correct” (Rev 3:19) – the Lord tells us in the Book of Revelation, and it is a grace to experience this. Indeed, our Father’s love for us is not only a tender and warm love that gives us security and shelters us; it is also a love that forms us. He wants to educate us so that we may advance on the spiritual path. Read More
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.
In many parts of the world, O Lord, Your sign is raised up: the sign of the Cross.
Exalted in it, You exclaim: “I am the salvation of the nations”.
“Why this uproar among the nations, this impotent muttering of the peoples? Kings of the earth take up position, princes plot together against Yahweh and his anointed” (Ps 2:1-2).
O Adonai, and Leader of the house of Israel,
Who didst appear to Moses in the flame of the burning bush,
and didst give unto him the Law on Sinai:
come and with an outstretched arm redeem us.
O Adonai, Father of life!
You never forsook man, even when he turned his back on You. Read More
