Traditonal Roman Catholicism
Second Sunday of Advent
From THE LITURGICAL YEAR, Book 1, Advent
LORETO PUBLISHING
Dom Guéranger OSB
First Translation: 1867



 

THE Office of this Sunday is filled, from beginning to end, with the
sentiments of hope and joy, with which the soul should be animated at the
glad tidings of the speedy coming of Him Who is her Saviour and Spouse.
The interior coming, that which is effected in the soul, is the almost
exclusive object of the Church's prayers for this day: let us therefore open
our hearts, let us prepare our lamps, and await in gladness that cry, which
will be heard in the midnight: 'Glory be to God! Peace unto men!'
  
The Roman Church makes the Station today in the basilica of
Holy-Cross-in-Jerusalem. It was in this venerable church that Constantine
deposited a large piece of the true Cross, together with the title which was
fastened to it by Pilate's order, and which proclaimed the kingly character of
the Saviour of the world. These precious relics are still kept there; and, thus
enriched with such a treasure, the basilica of Holy-Cross-in-Jerusalem is
looked upon, in the Roman liturgy, as Jerusalem itself, as is evident from
the allusions made in the several Masses of the Stations held in that
basilica. In the language of the sacred Scriptures and of the Church,
Jerusalem is the image of the faithful soul; and the Office and Mass of this
Sunday have been drawn up on this idea, as the one of the day. We regret
not to be able here to develop the sublime beauty of this figure; and must
proceed at once to the passage, which the Church has selected from the
prophet Isaias. There she tells her children how well founded are her hopes
in the merciful and peaceful reign of the Messias. But first let us adore this
Divine Messias:

Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, Who is to come.

From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xi.

  And there shall come forth a branch out of the rod of Jesse, and a flower
shall rise up out of his root. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of
fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and of godliness: and h He shall be filled
with the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the
sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears: but He
shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek
of the earth.

And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath
of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of His
loin, and faith the girdle of His reins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion and the sheep
shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. The calf and the bear
shall feed: their young ones shall rest  together: and the lion shall eat straw
like an ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp: and the
weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk. They shall
not hurt, nor shall they kill in all My holy mountain: for the earth is filled with
the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea. In that day
the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of people, Him the Gentiles
shall beseech, and His sepulchre shall be glorious.

 How much is contained in these magnificent words of the prophet! The
branch; the flower that is to come from it; the Spirit which rests on this
flower; the seven gifts of this Spirit; peace and confidence established on
the earth; and, throughout the world, one brotherhood in the kingdom of the
Messias! St. Jerome, whose words are read by the Church in the lessons
of the second nocturne of this Sunday, says that the branch which calleth
forth from the root of Jesse, is the blessed Virgin Mary, who had contact
with no shrub or plant; and that the flower is the Lord Jesus, Who says in
the Canticle of canticles: 'I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the
valley.' In every age of the Christian Church, this wonderful branch and its
Divine flower have been objects of enthusiastic veneration. In the middle
ages the tree of Jesse, with its prophetic branches, was carved on the
cathedral porches, was painted on the windows, was embroidered on the
hangings of the sanctuary, and the melodious voice of the priests sang its
praises in the beautiful responsory composed by Fulbert of Chartres, and
put to music by the devout king Robert.
R. The root of Jesse gave out a branch, and the branch a flower; and on
the flower resteth the holy Spirit.

 V. The Virgin Mother of God is the branch, her Son the flower. And on the
flower resteth the Holy Spirit.

The devout St. Bernard, commenting upon this responsory in his second
Advent homily, says: 'The Virgin's Son is the flower, a flower white and
ruddy, chosen out of thousands; a flower on Whom the Angels love to look;
a flower whose fragrance restores the dead; a flower, as Himself assures
us, of the field, not of a garden: for the flowers of the field bloom without
man's care, no man has sown their seed, no man has cultivated them. Just
so the Virgin's womb, a meadow verdant in an endless spring, has brought
forth a flower, Whose beauty will never droop, Whose freshness will never
fade. O Virgin, branch sublime, to what a height art thou grown! Even up to
Him that sitteth on the throne, even to the Lord of majesty. It was sure to be
so, for thou castest deep down the roots of humility. O plant of Heaven
indeed! precious above all, holier than all. O tree of life indeed! alone
worthy to bear the fruit of salvation.'

  And of the holy Spirit and His gifts, what shall we say? They rest and are
poured out on the Messias only to the end that they may flow from Him
upon us ; He needs them not; but we alone need wisdom and
understanding, counsel and fortitude, knowledge and godliness, and fear of
the Lord. Let us ask with instance for this Divine Spirit, by Whose operation
Jesus was conceived and born in Mary's womb, and let us beg of Him to
form Jesus within our hearts. But let us not forget to rejoice at those other
glorious things which are told us by the prophet, of the happiness, and
peace, and delights, which are to be on the holy mountain. The world has
been looking so many ages for peace; it is now coming. Sin had caused
enmity and division everywhere; grace will bring unity. A little Child will be
the pledge of an alliance between all nations. The prophets have foretold it
. . . a new race is being sent down to earth from high Heaven. The flock
shall no more fear the fierce lions. The serpent shall be no more: the
treacherous plant, which yielded poison, shall grow no more.

  Come then, O Messias, and restore to the world its primitive peace; but
remember, we beseech Thee, that it is in the heart of man that harmony
has been broken more than elsewhere in Thy creation: cure this heart,
enter into possession of this Jerusalem, which Thou lovest, though so
unworthy: she has been too long captive in Babylon; lead her out of this
strange land. Build up her temple again, and make the glory of this second
temple to be greater than that of the first, by having Thee to dwell in it, not
in figure, but in the reality of Thy adorable Person. The Angel said to Mary:
'The Lord God shall give unto thy Son the throne of David His father; and
He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there
shall be no end.' What can we do, O Jesus, but say with Thy beloved
disciple, at the close of his prophecy: 'Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!' . . .

Thou art He that was to come, O Jesus! We look for no other. We were
blind, Thou hast enlightened us; we were lame, Thou hast made us walk;
the leprosy of sin disfigured us, Thou hast cleansed us; we were deaf to
Thy words, Thou hast given us hearing; we were dead in sin, Thou hast
given us life again; we were poor and had none to care for us, Thou hast
come to us with every aid and consolation. These have been, and will
again be, the blessings of Thy visit to our souls, O Jesus! A visit, silent but
wonderful in its work; which flesh and blood cannot understand, but which
faithful hearts feel is granted them. Come, my Saviour, come to me, Thy
condescension, and familiarity with such poverty as mine, shall not
scandalize me; Thy workings in the souls of men are proof enough that
Thou art God. He alone, that created souls, can heal them.

  After the symbol of faith has been chanted, when you see the priest is
about to make the offering of the bread and wine, unite with the Church in
asking to be filled with life by the Divine Guest, Who is so soon to be with
her.