Friday, December 22, 2023

Praying the O Antiphons, day 6: December 22- O Rex Gentium (King of All Nations)



To be prayed at Evening Prayer or Vespers before the Magnificat

Questions for meditation: 

How does Jesus model for us inclusion and obligation to all? 
Where do you hear references to the Magnificat in the Antiphon or its scriptural sources?

Antiphon for December 22: 
O King of the Gentiles and Desired of All, You are the Cornerstone that binds two into one: Come, and save humanity whom You have fashioned out of clay.

Then pray the Magnificat:
And Mary said,
My soul overflows with your greatness, O Adonai;
        My spirit rejoices in you, O Savior of All the Nations!
For the light of your countenance has dawned over me
        despite my humble state.
From now and throughout eternity
        even those yet born will call me Blessed
                and sing of the great things you have done for me,
                exulting in the holiness of your Name.
You pour out your mercy on those who stand in awe of you,
        those who revere you, 
                from ages untold to ages yet to come.
Your strong arm shields the humble
        and levels the proud in their isolating conceit.
You have razed the thrones of those who rule by might
        while setting the lowly and gentle upon seats of honor.
You have satisfied the hungry with abundant delights
        while giving the rich a begging bowl, 
                sending them away empty-handed.
You have come to the aid of your people unfailingly
        fulfilling your promises to our ancestors,
                to the children of Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham forever,
                standing among us from time immemorial.

Repeat the antiphon:
O King of the Gentiles and Desired of All, You are the Cornerstone that binds two into one: Come, and save humanity whom You have fashioned out of clay.






Prayer references for the antiphon:
Jeremiah 10:7; Haggai 2:7
Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For that is your due;
among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is no one like you. (Jer. 10:7)

and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the Lord of hosts. (Hag 2:7)

Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 21:42; Ephesians 2:20
therefore thus says the Lord God,
See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
‘One who trusts will not panic.’ (Is 28:16)

Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes”? (Mt 21:42)

...built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. (Eph 2:20)

Genesis 2:7
then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

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