Advent Podcast; Morning Prayer

Am I not pathetic, though? Just in time for your lunch I present to you…Morning Prayer!

Well, it’s still morning in California, and this is the beauty of liturgical prayer – it’s always an appropriate time for a particular prayer, somewhere!

A thought I had while I was reading the psalms: Do you remember the old game show, “Password,” hosted by Alan Ludden? While the celeb gamesters and contestants would look at their cards the announcer would murmur to the folks at home, “the password is [whatever].” And then there would be a ding. Ding!

In one of the psalms, we read “The word of the Lord is faithful.” Okay. How many times have we read that? So often that it barely registers. But today I read that line and somehow, I heard the voice of the password announcer.

The word of the Lord is…FAITHFUL. Ding!

Perhaps rather than definitive the word is possessive. The word of the Lord is…FAITHFUL. It is his own word, the word that belongs to him. It is – frankly – the word that defines Him, as well as those twins, Merciful and Just.

I’m keeping that taped to my computer screen today. What better word to ponder during Advent than the Lord’s own word, and to recall the faithfulness that brings the new Adam – in humility, vulnerability and willingness. Mary said “yes.” But God did, too.

I’m going to post a little later about the meaning of the purple of Advent and the argument as to whether the season is penitential or not. I frankly don’t get too wrapped up in all the crossed t’s and dotted i’s about this stuff, but others apparently do, and my email has a lot of questions.

Meanwhile, Sr. Mary Catherine, the novice mistress for the Dominican Nuns in Summit, NJ, has written a joyful piece on Advent in the monastery that you might like. One of the nuns there, Sr. Rosena Marie, has just published a new book, The Mystery and Destiny of the Church, which is available through them or via Amazon. Sounds great; I’ll have to look into it.