The week before Christmas are the so-called major Advent fairs. The entire liturgy is oriented to prepare with emphasis the arrival of the birth of Christ. The antiphons that introduce the Magnificat at Vespers recall a special title of Christ. Today, the 19th, Root.
“O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!”
Lord Jesus, who has ennobled the human lineage by sharing blood and history in the lineage of David, you are a sign of hope for all peoples.
You are the force that unites all peoples, cultures and families, recognizing that we have the same origin and the same end. You have made us all family and children of the Church through Baptism, as the words of the Second Vatican Council remind us: “It was the will of God to sanctify and save men, not in isolation, without any connection to one another, but constituting a people, who would confess him in truth and serve him holyly” (LG 9).
In this kairos of the Church, you invite us to walk together, to listen to each other and to dialogue, to pray, to reflect… with “your traveling companions”. Walkers, side by side, we are messengers of hope for all peoples. Give us the light of your Spirit to “make dreams germinate, spark prophecies and visions, make hopes bloom, stimulate trust, bandage wounds, weave relationships, spark a dawn of hope, learn from each other and create a positive imagery that illuminates the minds, straighten hearts and give strength to hands” (For a Synodal Church 32).
Come, Jesus, our hope, take no longer!
