The Way of Mary: Radiance!

 Good Saturday morning, good Advent pilgrims on The Way of Mary. The snow has finally stopped and it is sunny but C.O.L.D. here in Bawston (presently 26 degrees). The local news is reporting that there are 70 delays and 80 cancellations at Logan Airport, but my airline is reporting my flight "on time".

(Please, Jesus or St. Peter, or Pinocchio or Tinkerbell or whoever is in charge of the cosmos today, may that to be so.)

I'm scheduled to preach tomorrow so, taking every precaution, I've sent my sermon to Ms. Conroy and I've written the Canon and the Sr. Warden of the church about the possibility (please, not probability but possibility) of a delay or (gasp!) cancellation.

We have a Plan B and Plan C approved and in place, but hopefully (fingers, toes, arms, legs, and eyes crossed) I'll make it home on time or close to it and be there with those good people in Milton at 9:30 AM for a 10:00 AM mass.

In the Northern Hemisphere, today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. It's officially the first day of winter and one of the oldest-known holidays in human history.

Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years before humans even began farming on a large scale. Many of the most ancient stone structures made by human beings were designed to pinpoint the precise date of the solstice. The stone circles of Stonehenge were arranged to receive the first rays of the midwinter sun.

Some ancient peoples believed that because daylight was waning, it might go away forever, so they lit huge bonfires to tempt the sun to come back. The tradition of decorating our houses and our trees with lights at this time of year is passed down from those ancient bonfires.

In ancient Egypt and Syria, people celebrated the winter solstice as the sun's birthday. In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated with the festival of Saturnalia, during which all business transactions and even wars were suspended, and slaves were waited upon by their masters.

Today is also Day V of the O Antiphons. The Meditative Word for today is Radiance.

"O Rising Dawn, Radiance of the Light eternal and Sun of Justice: Come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12, Habakkuk 3:4; Wisdom 7:26; Hebrews 1:3, Malachi 4:2)

It is good to say this O Antiphon before and after saying The Magnificat (which we'll hear in church tomorrow)

THE MAGNIFICAT:
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid:
For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is His name.
And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him.
He hath shown might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy:
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His seed for ever.
Glory be the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forever and ever, Amen.

Here's a little meditation and prayer from Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB

"The celebration of the God of Growth in our lives—those moments of insight in which life comes newly alive in me—helps us to recognize those moments of insight in which life comes newly alive and I begin to see differently, to live differently, to function differently. A new friend, a new work, or a new idea are all "radiant dawns" in life that can enable me to become more than I ever dreamed I could."

And, here's a wee prayer, just for today: O Dayspring, Sun of Justice, bright eternal light, one who shows the way, the one who sets us free even in darkness and death. Come, disperse the gloomy clouds of night.

Off we go, then, into this first day of Winter.

I hope something good happens to you today.

Bom dia!