O Clavis David: opening the gates of Eternity

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis

O Key of David,
opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!

We often speak of having a "God-sized hole" in our hearts, a variation of Augustine's "our hearts our restless until they rest in you." I have been struck this year, even before the O Antiphons began, with the notion that Jesus' is THE key that fits this hole (which means the whole does indeed have a definite shape, only to be fitted by a particular key). But rather than the key turning to open the gates that reveal the mysteries of God, the key is the still point of Creation, and it is we who must turn around him, that is, we must convert, con-verte to turn around (Lat.). Our whole life must make Christ the center, everything must be fitted to him, or the gates to God's eternal Kingdom will not open.

O gates lift up your heads. Grow higher ancient doors. That the King of Glory may come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts

There's also room here to meditate on the idea that the door itself, the heart, is warped, jambed so it simply cannot open, and that this is where the necesity of Mary as mediatrix, whose heart is the gate by which the Glory of God stepped into the world in his incarnation is the only portal by which we may in turn step into Heaven. We must have a heart transplant and allow Mary's Immaculate Heart to replace our own, for it is the only door in which the Key of Christ will still fit snugly.

Loving Mother of the Redeemer, Gate of Heaven ...

Comments

Crux Fidelis: The Tree of Life

Edward Burne-Jones, "Tree of Life" Faithful Cross! Above all other, one and only noble Tree! None in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit thy peers may be; sweetest wood and sweetest iron! Sweetest Weight is hung on thee! —Crux Fidelis In which the pilgrim, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, meditates on the Crucified Christ as the Tree of Life.

Tolkien on "The Secret Fire"

The Secret Fire of Middle-earth "You cannot pass," he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass." —Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings , The Fellowship of the Ring "Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä." —Valaquenta, The Silmarillion . The following is quoted from Tolkien and the Silmarillion , by Clyde S. Kilby [ via here ] Responding to a letter from Father Robert Murray suggesting Tolkien’s story impressed him as entirely about grace, Tolkien wrote: “I know exactly what you mean by the order of grace; and of course by your references to Our Lady, upon which all my own small perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded. The Lord of

in persona christi | on priestly celibacy

[Christ] is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of he heavenly sanctuary. — Heb 8:1-5 In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. — Mat 22:30 There seems to me a powerful link here between the reading from Hebrews in today's Office of Readings and Matthew 22 that speaks to priestly celibacy, and I offer a few off the cuff reflections.

Our Lady of Ashes

Search This Blog