“then will the lame leap like a stag”
The Communion Antiphon given for the Third Sunday of Advent is titled in Latin: Dicite: Pusillanimes. In English: Say, Take Courage.
This antiphon is taken from Isaiah 35:4 and can be accompanied by the stanzas taken from verses 1-3 and 5-7. All of creation, but most especially fallen man longs for Christ and indeed comes alive in Christ.
The desert and the parched land will exult; the steepe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
The will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak,
then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared.
Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, spring of water;
The abode where jackals lurk will be a march for the reed and papyrus.
We are the lame, that in Christ will leap like a stag.
VIDEO - autumnwatch deer diary epilogue
A stag is a adult male deer. At the 0:50 mark of this video the stag leaps over a creek. Why is it that the Christian, full of the Life of Christ, is associated with a stag? The stag is strong, powerful, agile, and graceful. Going from lame to leaping is transformation of Christ in our life.
Advent is the spiritual new year a time when we can prepare for the coming of Christ in three ways. At the beginning of this new year we can make a spiritual resolution to receive Christ as He comes to us.
“‘There are three comings of our Lord; the first in the flesh, the second in the soul, the third at the judgment. The first was at midnight, according to those words of the Gospel: At midnight there was a cry made, Lo the Bridegroom cometh! But this first coming is long since past, for Christ has been seen on the earth and has conversed among men. We are now in the second coming, provided only we are such as that He may thus come to us; for He has said that if we love him, He will come unto us and will take up His abode with us. So that this second coming is full of uncertainty to us; for who, save the Spirit of God, knows them that are of God? They that are raised out of themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know indeed when He comes; but whence He cometh, or whither He goeth, they know not. As for the third coming, it is most certain that it will be, most uncertain when it will be; for nothing is more sure than death, and nothing less sure than the hour of death. When they shall say, peace and security, says the apostle, then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. So that the first coming was humble and hidden, the second is mysterious and full of love, the third will be majestic and terrible. In His first coming, Christ was judged by men unjustly; in His second, He renders us just by His grace; in His third, He will judge all things with justice. In His first, a lamb; in His last, a lion; in the one between the two, the tenderest of friends.’”[i]
We can use the acronym L.E.A.P. as a blueprint of our Christian life. What does “L.E.A.P.” stand for? Liturgy, Education, Apostolate, Prayer.
[L]iturgy[ii]
Liturgy is in its original meaning, a “public work” or service done in the name of or on behalf of the people. Through the liturgy Christ our high Priest continues the work of our redemption through the Church’s celebration of the Paschal mystery by which he accomplished our salvation.[iii] .
How can we live liturgically? We can do this hourly, daily, yearly. In the Church we have what is called the Liturgy of the Hours. This is also called the Divine Office or Christian Prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours can be prayed eight times a day (each of these eight are called “hours”), roughly every three hours. Some religious order of monks and nuns pray 5 to 8 of the hours each day. Clergy usually pray Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer. Lay People are called to pray what they can. Night Prayer and Midday Prayer are the “little hours” or the shortest of the hours and is a good place to begin. The Divine Liturgy (Mass) is offered daily and it is the obligation of the Catholic to attend Mass on Sundays or the Saturday Vigil Mass. As Catholics we also live liturgically on a yearly basis entering into the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent, celebrating the mysteries of the Christmas and Easter season, and growing in holiness as we imitate the Gospel in Ordinary Time. Also included in the liturgical life are the sacraments, which are all rites. Rites are the diverse liturgical traditions in which the one catholic and apostolic faith has come to be expressed and celebrated in various culture and lands.[iv] Processions, such as Eucharistic, Palm Sunday, Marian, etc. are also liturgical.
Search: Living Liturgically
God created man in his own image and likeness to participate in the divine life and holiness of God through a personal relationship with him.[v] Through worship man enters into communion with God his Creator, who is love and beauty, and is by grace through faith made holy, as God is holy. “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” (Ps. 86/85:9)
The manner and substance of our worship is not only an expression of our love for God but it is also a profession of the Faith we have received from him. “For God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (Jn. 4:24) And the genuineness of our worship is manifested in the way we live our lives. “And were the liturgy not to have its effects on daily life, our worship would become void and displeasing to God.” (Bl. Pope John Paul II)[vi]
For not only is there is an inseparable link between “the law of prayer” (lex orandi) and “the law of belief” (lex credendi), i.e., Liturgy and Faith, there is an indispensable correlation between the way one worships and the way one lives (lex vivendi), i.e., Liturgy and Life. In fact, the term orthodoxy not only means “right belief” but “right worship”, which in turn leads to orthopraxy, i.e., “right action”.
Thus, if we want to live rightly, we must believe rightly; and if we want to believe rightly, we must pray rightly. “He who knows how to live well is he who knows how to pray well.” (St. Augustine) “Prayer is the most complete form of theology. It is theology carried to its ultimate realization.” (Abp. Joseph M. Raya)[vii]
“The human world itself must become worship of God, an oblation in the Holy Spirit. When the world in all its parts has become a liturgy of God, when, in its reality, it has become adoration, then it will have reached its goal and will be safe and sound.” (Pope Benedict XVI)[viii]
[E]ducation[ix]
How do we educate our self? The lessons we are giving at the Mass are primary along with the instructions given during the homily. We also have the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a guide to the teachings of Christ and His Church. The diocese, parishes as well as apostolates and movements within the Church offer catechism (instruction) classes and resources to edify the faithful. It is our responsibility to plug into these classes and resource not only for the good and salvation of our soul, but for souls that our in our care. Pilgrimages, retreats, and days of reflection are also necessary.
Christianity is the teaching and life of Jesus Christ, inseparable from the historic community of the Church, and encompassing its entire way of life – “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3) – which has been handed down (tradere) from one generation to the next, without addition or subtraction.
“All Christ’s faithful are called to hand it on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer.”[x] “Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, whether by word or epistle (2 Thes. 2:15),” “for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you.” (1 Cor. 11:23)
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church. “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Tim. 1:13-14; cf. 1 Tim. 6:20)
By adhering to this Deposit of Faith, Oblates remain always faithful to the teaching and ministry of Jesus Christ, which he committed to the Apostles and their Successors – the Magisterium (teaching office) of the Church – whose authority is exercised in his name.
This teaching office is not above the Word of God, but its servant, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit. All that the Church proposes for belief, as being divinely revealed, is drawn from this single Deposit of Faith.
These three – Tradition, Scripture, and the Magisterium – are “so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.”[xi]
[A]postolate[xii]
Apostolate is the activity of the Christian which fulfills the apostolic nature of the whole Church by working to extend the reign of Christ to the entire world.[xiii]
Christ will not reign in the world until He reigns in the hearts of each person. We must live out our primary vocation (call) to holiness, and by thus living out this call Christ will reign in our hearts and we will be the witness of Christ and of holiness for the world. We must engage in activities that are aimed at the reign of Christ in our hearts and the pursuit of holiness. Whether these activities are social or service they must be rooted in holiness. The following excerpts from the Second Vatican Council deal with the universal call to holiness.
Second Vatican Council: “Every Catholic must therefore aim at Christian perfection and, each according to his station, play his part, that the Church, which bears in her own body the humility and dying of Jesus, may daily be more purified and renewed, against the day when Christ will present her to himself in all her glory without spot or wrinkle.” (Unitatis Redintegratio, 4)
“The Church, whose mystery is being set forth by this Sacred Synod, is believed to be indefectibly holy. Indeed Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is praised as ‘uniquely holy,’ (Mk. 16:15) loved the Church as his bride, delivering himself up for her. He did this that he might sanctify her. (Cf. Eph. 5:25-26) He united her to himself as his own body and brought it to perfection by the gift of the Holy Spirit for God's glory. Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: ‘For this is the will of God, your sanctification’ (1 Thes. 4:13).”
“However, this holiness of the Church is unceasingly manifested, and must be manifested, in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the Faithful; it is expressed in many ways in individuals, who in their walk of life, tend toward the perfection of charity, thus causing the edification of others; in a very special way this holiness appears in the practice of the counsels, customarily called ‘evangelical.’ This practice of the counsels, under the impulsion of the Holy Spirit, undertaken by many Christians, either privately or in a Church-approved condition or state of life, gives and must give in the world an outstanding witness and example of this same holiness.”
“The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life to each and every one of His disciples of every condition. He Himself stands as the author and consumator of this holiness of life: “Be you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:48; cf. Col. 1:15) Indeed he sent the Holy Spirit upon all men that he might move them inwardly to love God with their whole heart and their whole soul, with all their mind and all their strength (Cf. Mk. 12:13) and that they might love each other as Christ loves them. (Cf. Jn. 13: 34; 15, 12)
The followers of Christ are called by God, not because of their works, but according to his own purpose and grace. They are justified in the Lord Jesus, because in the baptism of faith they truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature. In this way they are really made holy. Then too, by God’s gift, they must hold on to and complete in their lives this holiness they have received. They are warned by the Apostle to live “as becomes saints” (Eph. 5:3), and to put on “as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience” (Col. 3:12), and to possess the fruit of the Spirit in holiness. (Cf. Gal. 5:22; Rom. 6:22) Since truly we all offend in many things (Cf. Jas. 3:2) we all need God’s mercies continually and we all must daily pray: “Forgive us our debts.” (Mt. 6:12: cf. Rom. 8:29)
Thus it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; (Cf. Eph. 1:4-5, 10) by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society. In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor. In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history.” (Lumen Gentium, 39-40; cf. Rom. 1:1-4; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Pt. 1:4; 1 Thes. 4:3,7; 1 Pt. 1:15-16, Lev. 11:44)
[P]rayer[xiv]
Prayer is the elevation of the mind and heart to God in praise of his glory; a petition made to God for some desired good, or in thanksgiving for a good received, or in intercession for others before God. Through prayer the Christian experiences a communion with God through Christ in the Church.[xv]
Prayer is communication with God. If we desire to know, love, and serve someone the knowledge, love, and service is impossible without communication. We do not initiate the conversation, for God has already spoke to our heart, prayer is our response to the voice of God. God’s initiates and speaks to us without ceasing, will we reply back in love without ceasing.
The holy Apostle St. Paul has told each of us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17). Most of us are far from achieving this goal. To pray without ceasing, we must first at least pray frequently; and to pray frequently most of us must first pray regularly; and to pray regularly most of us must pray according to some rule.
A prayer rule is the outline of one’s daily prayer routine. It is important to have a thought out rule. A prayer rule should first specify the time (and if helpful, the place) of prayer. Then it should outline the sequence of prayers and the specific prayers we will say.
Casually going to our place for prayer and simply talking with God is not the best way to begin to develop our prayer life. We will find that we end up babbling in front of our loving Lord, which is disrespectful to Almighty God and counterproductive to our spiritual growth.
We can take advantage of the centuries of wisdom and practice by using proven methods of prayer that will lift us up in our way of communicating with God. The Church gives us many helpful rules of prayer, which are contained in most prayer books, monastic rules and other helpful resources.
[i] Peter of Blois; De Adventu, Sermon III [Abbot Gueranger, OSB; The Liturgical Year; Advent]
[ii] Kevin Clay; http://thelastmartyrdom.com/?load=page&page=1466
[iii] Catechism of the Catholic Church; Glossary
[iv] Catechism of the Catholic Church; Glossary
[v] Cf. Gen. 1:26-27; 2 Pt. 1:4; Eph. 4:24
[vi] Address to the Plenary Meeting of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 21 September 2001
[vii] The Face of God, p. 200
[viii] Homily for the Holy Mass for the Imposition of the Pallium on Metropolitan Archbishops on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, 29 September 2008
[ix] Kevin Clay; http://thelastmartyrdom.com/?load=page&page=1496
[x] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 3
[xi] No. 2-5 Cf. Dei Verbum, 10; cf. Dei Filius, 8
[xii] Kevin Clay; http://thelastmartyrdom.com/?load=page&page=1373
[xiii] Catechism of the Catholic Church; Glossary
[xiv] Kevin Clay; http://thelastmartyrdom.com/?load=page&page=1322
[xv] Catechism of the Catholic Church; Glossary