During Advent, members of the A Nun’s Life community will be posting reflections on the Jesse Tree and the O Antiphons.

Day 17 :: O Sapientia (O Wisdom) written by Wren

"Sophia, Divine Wisdom" - Gouache and gold leaf on sculpted board, written by Mary Plaster 2003

December 17 marks the beginning of the “octave before Christmas”, when the seven “O Antiphons” are recited before the Magnificat during Vespers during the Liturgy of the Hours.

Catholic SAT words FTW! Let’s engage in a little clarification, shall we?

To begin with, the Liturgy of the Hours are prayers said at certain times of the day; usually this means you are praying the Divine Office, which are the official prayers sanctioned by the Catholic church. However, some people pray other prayers during these times that are not the Divine Office, though most Catholics use these terms interchangeably (kind of like “nun” and “sister”). If you were to pray the full Liturgy of the Hours, there are seven times in the day for prayers: The Office of Readings, otherwise known as Vigils or Matins, which in modern times may be prayed at any time of day, but traditionally are prayed at midnight. Next comes Morning Prayer, AKA Lauds, which nowadays is prayed any time between 6 and 11AM, and traditionally was prayed at dawn. Then Midmorning Prayer, AKA Terce, prayed at about 9AM. Midday Prayer (AKA Sext) is next, which is prayed around noon. Then Midafternoon Prayer is prayed around 3PM, and Evening Prayer, AKA Vespers, currently is prayed between 4 and 11PM but traditionally prayed between 3 to 6PM. Night Prayer, AKA Compline, is prayed before bedtime. Not everyone who prays the Liturgy of the Hours prays all seven hours, but some do. And no, each prayer does not take an hour: the word “hour” here is somewhat like saying “o’clock”. It’s like saying a store is open “round the clock” or “24 hours”: the LotH are formal prayers prayed around the clock.

So in the case of the O Antiphons, we are talking about something recited (or chanted) during Evening Prayer.

The Magnificat, which is Latin for “[my soul] magnifies,” is also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary. It is taken from Luke 1:46-55, where Mary says: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.” (RSV)

Each of the O Antiphons highlights one of the titles for the Messiah. We start with O Sapientia, which means O Wisdom: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.”

So, now that we all know what the O Antiphons are, and when they are prayed, let’s talk about why they are prayed. During Advent, we are anticipating and celebrating the forthcoming arrival of Jesus. As we get closer, the O Antiphons are a way to meditate on some of the many attributes of Jesus, examining one per day. Today, on the first day of the octave, we meditate on “Jesus is wisdom.”

As part of my Advent meditations, I began reading Matthew straight through, and am reminded of John the Baptist: he had prophesized that one greater than he would soon come, and when Jesus sought him out to be baptized, he seemed surprised, recognizing right away Jesus’ wisdom, when he said, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” In modern sci-fi terms, this would be like Yoda asking Luke to teach him about the force, and Luke saying, “But you’re Yoda.” Did I just reference Star Wars when talking about the gospel? Yes, yes I did.

There are certain figures in life that everyone can see their wisdom. Do you need to be Buddhist to think the Dalai Lama is a pretty wise man? Of course not. Did John need to witness all the miracles that Jesus had not yet performed or the resurrection in order to know how wise he was? Nope. He recognized him for what he was. Later in the gospel, while in jail, John sends word through his disciples asking if indeed Jesus is the Messiah when he hears of Jesus’ many deeds (Matt. 11:2-6), which means that he recognized Jesus’ wisdom before he even knew for certain that he was the one (I will refrain from making a Matrix reference here).

As we contemplate the impending arrival of Jesus at Christmas, take a moment to meditate on Jesus’ wisdom in your life. How does it manifest? Do you take comfort in his teachings in the gospel? Do you work to seek his direction in your life?

Happy Advent!

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Join the nuns and community for prayer tonight at 6 p.m. CT at aNunsLife.org/live.

During Advent, members of the A Nun’s Life community will be posting reflections on the Jesse Tree and the O Antiphons.

Day 13 :: Solomon written by Sisters Julie and Maxine

Sometimes wisdom doesn’t come in a nice neat package. It can be messy, cranky, weird, and downright bizarre. Who would have thought that the great king of wisdom — Solomon, the son of David and builder of the first temple of Jerusalem — would have suggested a very gruesome solution in order to settle a dispute between two mothers? Yet, in the end, the case was solved and Solomon has been praised for centuries for his most unusual exercise of wisdom.

We could use a little bit of unusual wisdom today. We had a full day planned for today and not one, not two, but a whole bundle of contrarieties popped up today throwing a gorilla wrench in our plans. Now we both appreciate a good plan and when it is blown asunder, it’s difficult to switch gears. Any chance you can relate?!

You might think that just because we are nuns that we would blissfully and serenely adjust to life’s unexpected twists and turns. But, you know, we’re human too and bliss is not what we were initially feeling. Then we took a moment and decided that out of this unexpected chaos, we could still make good on our day. We could make a choice to ape-preciate the gorilla wrenches and open ourselves to the new possibilities while simultaneously bidding farewell to the perfectly-good-but-no-longer-helpful plans we once had.

And therein lies the wisdom of Solomon — sometimes wisdom comes in very unusual packages. In what we initially took as a preposterous problem (how dare life change our plans!) we discovered a new way to be with one another and with our plans for the day. Surely the two women who fought over the child, each claiming that the child was theirs, thought it preposterous when Solomon suggested dividing the child in two. But one woman tapped into the deepest truth of her own being and her love for the child, and was willing to shift gears for the sake of the child. She didn’t hold onto her previous position (give me the child) though she had every right to. Rather she shifted and opened herself to the new. The other person? Not so much. She was willing to dig in her heels and take her “half” of the child. Obviously that would not end well.

So here’s our invitation this day — what contrariety has come your way? What unusual wisdom may be lurking within the situation?

Solomon, be with us as we negotiate the contrarieties of our daily life. Help us to use the wisdom and creativity that God has gifted us with and to remember always our truest self in Christ.

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Yesterday, Sister Julie and I attended the Associate Covenant ceremony of our friend Holly. The ceremony was held in the Motherhouse in Monroe, Michigan. The warm light of the setting sun glowed in the Chapel windows as Holly stepped forward and made her formal commitment to the IHM way of prayer, community, and ministry. It was a beautiful and deeply touching ceremony.

Holly dedicated the ceremony to Bede Griffiths, a Benedictine priest who has done much writing and speaking about the mystical roots of Christianity. The desire to grow in awareness of oneself and of the Divine certainly isn’t unique to Christianity – it is shared by many of the great religions of the world, such as Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism.

I loved how the ceremony reflected the universal human desire for the Divine. There was a lotus flower, a religious symbol common in Hinduism and Buddhism, on the cover of the ceremony booklet. There were readings from the Book of Wisdom and the Gospel of Luke, as well as from the writings of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn, among others. The music included pieces such as “How Can I Keep from Singing” and “Nocturne.”

As the ceremony ended and we went forth from the chapel, I thought about the many different ways the Divine is at work in humanity and all of creation. And about the power of symbols to remind us of our interconnectedness in the Spirit. This morning, as I was just waking up, I realized that I was dreaming about a lotus flower placed over an open Bible.

Are there particular symbols that have come to light recently for you? If you’d like to share them, please write about them in the comment box below. If it’s an image, you might want to include a link where the image can be viewed.

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The other day as I was reading about world religions, I came across some writings on Sufism, which is part of the mystical tradition of Islam. One of the great gifts of all the spiritual traditions is the wisdom they offer. Here’s one of the things I found:

The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words pass through three gates:

1.  Are these words true?

2.  Are they necessary?

3.  Are they kind?

In my life and ministry, I work with the written and spoken word most of the time. I love language because it has the power to shape the values of our world. I put a copy of the Sufis’ words of wisdom above my desk as a reminder to take care with words, so that I may help to cultivate a world of compassion.

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

I am home at the IHM Motherhouse in Monroe, Michigan. Sister Maxine and I have meetings through Sunday. As always it is great to be home. Last night we did our first live podcast from the Motherhouse. Sister Joyce Durosko, our nun and good friend, joined us for the podcast. It was a delight to be with her and with so many folks who joined the podcast for evening prayer. We’ll be on again tonight at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) at http://anunslife.org/live.

Today’s readings for prayer are from Psalm 19 and the Book of Wisdom. I found the reading from Wisdom rather captivating. Here’s a part of it:

In Wisdom is a spirit
intelligent, holy, unique,
Manifold, subtle, agile,
clear, unstained, certain,
Not baneful, loving the good, keen,
unhampered, beneficent, kindly,
Firm, secure, tranquil,
all-powerful, all-seeing,
And pervading all spirits,
though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.
For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,
and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.

I love that line … “Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion.” I’m not sure what it means yet but am going to munch on these words for a bit today.

And here’s a beautiful image of Sophia, Holy Wisdom. Sophia is a Greek word that refers to the Wisdom of God and is often seen in Christian mystical writings. Saint Paul also writes of Holy Wisdom in his letters.

What strikes you about Wisdom in the reading or in the image? What bit of Wisdom do you need for your day today?