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O Clavis David

20/December/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Annunciation by Fra AngelicoO Key of David, and Sceptre of the House of Israel, who open and no one shuts: come and free those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. The O antiphon recalls both Isaiah 22 (the key of the house of David) and Isaiah 9 (a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and government is upon his shoulder) while monastic tradition associates this day with the Gospel of the Annunciation. It is customary for the superior to give a talk on the Annunciation gospel, always called the Missus Est (from the Latin missus est angelus Gabriel a Deo, the angel Gabriel was sent from God). The finest of all Missus Est sermons are by St Bernard, but today, in every Benedictine monastery throughout the world, a monk or nun will be trying to say something about that moment of unequalled faith when Mary consented to be the mother of Jesus, and in so doing became the Mother of God. Surely there is a lesson there for us, too. God can transform our trifling acts of love and surrender into something that exceeds all our hopes and imaginings, if only we let him. (To listen to today's antiphon, go to the Prayer Box on the Vocation page and use the drop-down menu. Recording by courtesy of Fr Jim Tucker and the North American College.)