The one desired by all the peoples will come
The fourth and last Sunday of Advent is really one where it feels that patience is running out. As the first antiphone of the Vespers (Evening prayer) says it so well: See, the one desired by all the peoples will come, and the house of the Lord will be filled with glory. Alleluia. Yes, we are almost running out of patience but not entirely because there is the sure hope that the Lord will come.
However, in the hymn of the Vespers there is the longing for the Messiah to come.
O come, now Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From every foe deliver them
That trust your mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now Day-spring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadow put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid now our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
O come, now because we are fed up of our foes. We need the deliverance that only you can give us O Lord! Give us that much desired victory we all need which will take us beyond our grave and put us in our heavenly home. Protect our journey to the Heavenly Jerusalem and close every road which take us back to misery. You are the Key of David. O come, now to cheer us up, disperse our gloomy existential night and put to flight the death’s dark shadow. O come, Desire of nations, to make us one heart as one humanity. Heal us from all our sad divisions and be yourself our King of Peace.
But to believe all this we need the great faith of Mary which is not simply a theoretical one but is translated into the art of serving. Pope Francis reminds us in this quality of serving in his Angelus Addess of December 19, 2021:
In the last stretch of the Advent journey, let us be guided by these two verbs. To arise and to go in haste: these are the two movements that Mary made and that she also invites us to make as Christmas approaches. First of all, arise. After the angel’s annunciation, a difficult period loomed ahead for the Virgin: her unexpected pregnancy exposed her to misunderstandings and even severe punishment, including stoning, in the culture of that time. Let us imagine how many concerns and worries she had! Nevertheless, she did not become discouraged, she was not disheartened: but she arose. She did not look down at her problems, but up to God. And she did not think about who to ask for help, but to whom to bring help. She always thought about others: that is Mary, always thinking of the needs of others. (…) The second movement is to go in haste. (…) On her way to Elizabeth’s house, Mary proceeds with the quick step of one whose heart and life are full of God, full of his joy. (…) Let us not forget that the first act of charity we can do for our neighbours is to offer them a serene and smiling face. It is bringing the joy of Jesus to them, as Mary did with Elizabeth.
May the Mother of God take us by the hand, and help us to arise and to go in haste towards Christmas!
Lord, you who are the one desired by all people, are inviting us to arise and to go in haste towards you birth. Give us the strength to experience this great joy each and every time we serve you in the neediest of the needy. Amen.
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
