Today is the second of the O Antiphons, O Adonai (O
Almighty God). As Moses approached the burning bush, so we approach the
divine Savior in the form of a child in the crib, or in the form of the
consecrated host, and falling down we adore Him. "Put off the shoes
from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground . . . I
am who am." "Come with an outstretched arm to redeem us." This is the
cry of the Church for the second coming of Christ on the last day. The
return of the Savior brings us plentiful redemption.
2nd O Antiphon:
O Lord and Ruler of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush, and gave him the law on Sinai:
O Lord and Ruler of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush, and gave him the law on Sinai:
O Lord and Ruler
Thou art He "who didst appear to Moses in the burning bush." "I have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigor of them that are over the works. And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey" (Exod. 3:7 f.). Thus spoke the Lord to Moses from the bush which burned but was not consumed, which is a figure of God's condescension to assume the weakness of human nature. The human nature of Christ is united to the burning divine nature, and yet it is not consumed.
Thou art He "who didst appear to Moses in the burning bush." "I have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigor of them that are over the works. And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey" (Exod. 3:7 f.). Thus spoke the Lord to Moses from the bush which burned but was not consumed, which is a figure of God's condescension to assume the weakness of human nature. The human nature of Christ is united to the burning divine nature, and yet it is not consumed.
As
Moses approached the burning bush, so we approach the divine Savior in
the form of a child in the crib, or in the form of the consecrated host,
and falling down we adore Him. "Put off the shoes from thy feet, for
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. . . . I am who am"
(Exod. 3:5, 14).
O
Adonai, almighty God! Mighty in the weakness of a child, and in the
helplessness of the Crucified! Thou, almighty God, mighty in the wonders
that Thou hast worked! Mighty in guiding, sustaining, and developing
Thy Church! "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
"Come
with an outstretched arm to redeem us." This is the cry of the Church
for the second coming of Christ on the last day. The return of the
Savior brings us plentiful redemption. "Come, ye blessed of My Father,
possess you the kingdom prepared for you" (Matt. 25-34).
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