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| Icon with the Virgin of the Tree of Jesse. 1666 Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece. Painted by Theodore Poulakis |
O Root of Jesse, you stand as a sign for the peoples; before you kings shall keep silence and to you all nations shall have recourse. Come, save us, and do not delay.
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
Isaiah 52:13, 15; 53:2: "See, my servant shall prosper...So shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless. ...He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot".
Isaiah prophesied a restoration of David's throne - a new branch budding out of the old root. Christ is the root of Jesse in a two-fold sense: he is the descendant of David, who was the youngest son of Jesse, and he inherited the royal throne. The angel foretold to Mary, "The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his reign will be without end" (Luke 1:32-33).
Our hearts more and more urgently cry out for God's reign to extend over all humanity: "Come, save us, and do not delay".
Reflections from prior years on the O Antiphons:
- iBenedictines - O Radix Jesse and Our Need of Roots 2016
- Salt + Light - O Radix Jesse
- Dating God - O Root of Jesse: Getting out of God’s Way
- Blue Eyed Ennis - O Root of Jesse
- Wellsprings reflection - O Root of Jesse
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