O Rex Gentium. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024 at 12:00AM in Advent Sermons
“O
King of the nations and desired of them, and the Corner-stone that
maketh both one, come and save man, whom Thou didst form of dust.”
1.
Never was there a king who had such a claim to sovereignty as Christ
Our Lord. He is King by divine appointment and His own right. He is King
by the consentient voice of His subjects, and by the right of conquest.
He is King by reason of His having purchased us with His own blood.
What unnumbered claims He has on me ! and besides all the rest, does He
not deserve to reign supreme by reason of His having won me by His love ?
2. Christ was desired by all nations, long before they knew Him
Whom they desired. The heathen world felt a craving want, which it
could not define, but which was the desire for the Savior Who should
free them from the bondage of sin. So now men of good-will outside the
Church feel something of the same strange longing. Nothing will satisfy
it save submission to their King by union with His mystical body, the
Church of God. Oh, how happy am I, whose desires are fulfilled in that I
am no alien, but a servant of that King Whom to serve is my own desire !
3. Christ is the Corner-stone that maketh both one ; the King
of peace, Whose work it is to unite together those who love Him in the
unity of mutual love of one another for His sake. Thus He desires that I
should be united to those around me, that there should be no dissension
or disunion. Do I in this fulfill the pleasure of my King ? " Meditations #26 for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena: Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests:Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves. Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more.
