Advent: December 21st
December 21, O Oriens (O Dayspring); Opt. Mem. of St. Peter Canisius, Priest & Doctor; Ember Saturday
Other Titles: Day 5 O Antiphons: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
MASS READINGS
December 21, 2024 (Readings on USCCB website)
PROPERS [Show]
COLLECT PRAYER
December 21: Hear in kindness, O Lord, the prayers of your people, that those who rejoice at the coming of your Only Begotten Son in our flesh may, when at last he comes in glory, gain the reward of eternal life. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Optional Memorial of St. Peter Canisius: O God, who for the defense of the Catholic faith made the Priest Saint Peter Canisius strong in virtue and in learning, grant, through his intercession, that those who seek the truth may joyfully find you, their God, and that your faithful people may persevere in confessing you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597), who was born at Nijmegen, Holland, at the very time that Luther began to rebel against the Church and St. Ignatius Loyola was laying the foundations of the Jesuit Order. After studying the arts, civil law and theology, St. Peter joined the Jesuit Order and was ordained a priest in 1546. He is noted especially for the following services to the Church: he defended the Catholic faith against the Protestants; by preaching, writing, founding colleges and seminaries, he caused Catholic life to flourish; he rendered invaluable services to the ecumenical Council of Trent; he wrote many catechisms which were translated into twelve languages in his own life time. He died in Fribourg, Switzerland.
According to the previous missal (1962), today was the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, now celebrated July 3. There are many traditions related to St. Thomas (A-Thomasing and Christmas baking) that were practicing on December 21st that are connected with preparing for Christmas, since his feast originally was a few days before Christmas. The traditions still hold merit, but are no longer attached to his feast day.
Today is the Fifth of the O Antiphons, O Oriens (O Radiant Dawn/O Dayspring/O Morning Star). It is the Sun, the Redeemer, whom we await. "I am the light [the sun] of the world" (John 8:12). Christ is the light of the world because of the faith which He has infused into souls. He has enlightened the world by His teaching and by the example of His life. In the crib, in Nazareth, on the cross on Calvary, in the tabernacle of our churches, He answers the eternal questioning of the benighted soul.
For those following the Jesse Tree, you can either continue through Christmas Eve following Catholic Culture's Jesse Tree, or use symbols based on the “O” Antiphons (see Jesse Tree Instructions).
Jesse Tree, Day 21 ~ Elizabeth
Jesse Tree Overview
It is the last day of the December Ember Days; today is Ember Saturday of Advent.
December Ember Days: Ember Saturday For centuries this Ember Saturday was the only day in the Church's year for conferring the sacrament of Holy Orders. The ordination on the Ember Saturday in Advent was formerly the only one held in Rome. It was therefore a day of some importance. Indeed, all the parts of today's traditional Mass bear the marks of their ancient origin: the numerous readings interspersed with chants and collects recall the primitive form of the vigil as it was practiced in Rome.
The Church no longer regularly ordains priests during the times of the Quarterly Ember Days, but this is a special time, particularly Ember Saturday, to pray for priests, particularly the ones who are about to be ordained within the year.
It is very difficult for us to sense how important the Ember Vigil services were in the early Roman liturgy. Embertide meant covenant renewal with God, thanksgiving for the gifts of nature and grace, and conferral of Holy Orders (Ember Saturday in December was the Church's official ordination day). Finally, the December series served as the ancient Advent observance, before the four-week season was introduced.
In order to understand today's Mass we must go back to early times when the liturgy was celebrated at night in the Church of St. Peter in Rome. In the previous missal, the two previous Ember Day Masses had an intimate and tender character; today's reflects a universal spirit (Church of St. Peter). The Mass presents Advent in an abbreviated form; these and topics developed during its four weeks are synthesized in today's formulary. Before us stands Christ who came as Man, who comes through grace, and who will come with power in the end of time. These three "comings" are united into one grace-laden "visitation" in the present. Several times there appears the light-and-darkness motif; for the Mass was celebrated at a very early morning hour, a circumstance that spontaneously occasioned the symbolism: from Advent's night to Christmas Light. Such is the theme of the traditional Mass.
The citations for the readings from the Mass for Ember Saturday:
Old Testament Lessons:
Isa 19:20-22;
Isa 35:1-7;
Isa 40:9-11;
Isa 45:1-8;
Dan 3:47-51, 52-56;
New Testament Epistle:
2 Thes 2:1-8
Gospel:
Luke 3:1-6 St. John the Baptist Prepares the Way
O Radiant Dawn
O eternal Sun, come and enlighten us, for where Thou art not, there is darkness, death, and wickedness. "Come and enlighten all who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death."
"But now [you are] light in the Lord" (Eph. 5:18). In the Church the light has now appeared to us on the first Christmas night, on the day of our baptism, daily in the Mass and at the time of Holy Communion, and in the many inspirations and promptings of grace. How thankful we should be for this light, which is Christ.
But we have yet to reach the full measure of the stature of Christ. Alas! we let ourselves be burdened by earthly sorrow, we are distracted by the excitement of the moment, and our spiritual growth is hampered by our attachment to the things of this world. Fervently we should repeat that plea of Holy Mother the Church. "O dawning Sun of righteousness, come and enlighten us, who yet sit in the darkness of suffering, of human reasoning, and of self-love."
The light of Christ will be revealed perfectly only when we meet Him at the time of His second coming. Then we shall be brought into the light of glory, and we shall "shine as the sun in the kingdom of the Father" (Matt. 13:48). "Sown in corruption we shall rise in incorruption" (I Cor. 15:42). May the day of enlightenment come soon!
—Excerpted from The Light of the World by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
Fifth O Antiphon: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
Symbols: Sun with Rays
Come, and shine on those seated in darkness, and in the shadow of death.
Traditional Antiphon: O Dawn, splendor of eternal light, and sun of justice, come, and shine on those seated in darkness, and in the shadow of death.
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
Vespers Antiphon: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
Just as the natural sun gives light and life to all upon whom its rays fall, so Christ, the Rising Dawn, dispels darkness and brings eternal life and light.
Recommended Reading: Malachi 4:2-6
St. Peter Canisius
Peter Canisius, the remarkable Jesuit who almost single-handedly reevangelized Central Europe, founded dozens of colleges, contributed to the rebirth of Catholicism by his prodigious writings, and laid the groundwork for the Catholic Reformation north of the Alps. He was born at Nijmegen, Holland, in 1521, and his father was an instructor to princes in the court of the duke of Lorraine. St. Peter Canisius was part of a movement for religious reform as a very young man and in 1543, after attending a retreat given by Blessed Peter Favre, joined the Jesuits and was the eighth professed member of the Society of Jesus.
He worked first in the city of Cologne, becoming a spokesman for the Catholic party. He became a consultor to the cardinal of Augsburg at the Council of Trent and in 1547 was called by St. Ignatius to Rome. He was sent to Sicily to teach, then, after his solemn profession in Rome, was sent back to Germany as the first superior of the German province of the Jesuits.
Peter next began to restore and found colleges, first in Vienna and Prague, and then in Munich, Innsbruck, and throughout northern Germany. He attracted vocations to the Jesuits, and the society began to flourish in Central Europe. He organized the Jesuits into a compact unit and made the society a leading force in the Counter-Reformation. He was in contact with all the Catholic leaders in Germany, and wrote fourteen hundred letters giving support to those laboring for reform. He was the adviser of the emperor and the confidante of three popes. He was consulted by papal legates and nunciatures and was a severe critic of religious and clerical life in post-Reformation Germany.
He recommended far-reaching reforms and had a profound effect upon the education and spiritual life of the clergy. Through his efforts, seminaries were founded, and the popes sent him on important diplomatic missions. In the midst of his many labors, he edited and published editions of the Fathers of the Church, catechisms, spiritual manuals, and textbooks that went into countless editions even in his own lifetime.
He died on December 21, 1597, at Fribourg, Switzerland, and was canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1925.
Patronage: Germany; Catholic press; catechism writers
Symbols and Representation: with his catechism and other books; teaching a group of children
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Celebrating the Feast of St. Peter Canisius
- Read more about St. Peter Canisius:
- Read the text from the General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, February 9, 2011
- His relics are in Fribourg, Switzerland.
- Celebrating the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle (in the previous 1962 missal)
Today is Day Six of the Christmas Novena
Ember Saturday of Advent
Station with Santi Dodici Apostoli (the Twelve Holy Apostles, also Santi Apostoli):
The stational church for today's Mass is the church of the Twelve Apostles in Rome. Mary is the apostle of the liturgy, the Mediatrix of all grace. She is the root from which springs the full bloom, Christ. "And of His fullness we all have received, and grace for grace" (John 1:16). It was erected by Julius I (337-352) over the barracks of ancient Rome's firemen and entrusted since 1463 to the Conventual Franciscans. Originally dedicated to the Apostles St. James and St. Philip, it was rededicated to all the Apostles in the 16th century. It is currently in the care of Conventual Franciscans.
For more on Santi Dodici Apostoli, see:
For further information on the Station Churches, see The Stational Church.
