Day 5 of the Novena of Aguinaldos...
Ember Friday and the Fourth of the O Antiphons: O Clavis David
Today is the Fourth of the O Antiphons, O Clavis David (O Key of David). O sublime majesty of the coming Redeemer! To Him has been delivered the key, the government of the house of David (Is 22:22). Boundless is His power over the graces and privileges of the Church, over the souls and hearts and the wills of men. He holds the destiny of the Church in the palm of His hand. He is Master of the storms that arise to destroy the Church and the souls committed to her. He is capable of dealing with the false principles and the errors that threaten her doctrines. He has overcome the devil and his associates, the world, the flesh and its tribulations. To Him all power is given (Matt. 28:18). "He shall open and none shall shut" (Is 22:22). Against the power that is His all other forces are powerless. The destiny of souls and the government of the Church are placed in His hand. He is the Lord of all. O Key of David, I believe in Thy power; and in the many difficult situations that confront the Church and my own soul, I place my trust in Thee.1
The Church does not read anything from the prophet Isaias to-day; she merely gives, in the Office of Matins, a sentence of that chapter of St Luke's Gospel, which relates the mystery of our Lady's Visitation: and to this she subjoins a fragment of St. Ambrose's homily upon that passage. The considerations and affections with which this important event of our Lady's life ought to inspire the faithful, will be given further on in the proper of the saints.
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. The glorious bodies of the two Holy Apostles Philip and James the Less, lie buried under the altar, awaiting the second coming of Him who chose them as His co-operators in the work of the first, and who will give them, on the last day, to sit upon the thrones near His own, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (St Matt. xix. 28) 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.
We continue with the Novena of Aguinaldos (aguinaldos means "bonuses" or "benefits").
The Novena of Aguinaldos
Make the sign of the Cross.
Prayer for Every Day
O Most Gracious God of infinite love, You loved humankind so much, You gave us in Your Son the best pledge of Your love, so that Jesus, made human in the womb of a Virgin and born in a manger, would be our health and remedy. I, on behalf of all humanity, give You infinite thanks for such a sovereign benefit. In return for this great gift, I offer You the poverty, simplicity, humility and other virtues of Your Incarnate Son. I implore You by His divine merits, the discomforts He suffered when He was born, and sweet tears He shed in the manger, that You prepare our hearts with profound humility, a burning love and with total disdain of all that is material and earthly, so that the newborn Jesus will find in our hearts His crib and abode forever. Amen.
Pray three Glory Bes
Daily Consideration
Day 5: December 20
We've seen the life that the Child Jesus carried out in the womb of His Most Pure Mother. Let us also see today the life that Mary lead during the same period of time. Mary did not cease in waiting in wonder for the moment that she would enjoy that beatific vision on earth: the face of God Incarnate. She was about to see that human face that would light up the heavens for all eternity. She was going to read the filial love in those same eyes whose rays would spread happiness forever to the chosen millions. She was going to see Him in the presumed ignorance of His infancy, the charm of His youth, and in the serenity of His mature age. Such was the extraordinary life of the expectant Mary! Let us not be content with looking at Jesus living in Mary, but rather let us think about how He also resides in essence, power and presence within us
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin
O Heavenly Queen, by your great virtues and especially for your humility, you merited God’s favor to choose you for His mother. I beg you to prepare my soul and the souls of all those who at this time are praying this Novena for the spiritual birth of your beloved Son. Oh, sweet Mother! Instill in me something of that profound contemplation and great tenderness you felt while you awaited His coming, so that you make us less unworthy to see Him, love Him, and adore Him for all eternity. Amen.
Pray three Hail Marys
Prayer to Saint Joseph
O great St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus! I give infinite thanks to God for having chosen you for such a great ministry and for having bestowed upon you all the gifts proportionate to such greatness. I beseech you, for the love you had for the Divine Child, that you embrace my earnest desires to see Him and receive Him sacramentally, while we wait to see Him and enjoy Him in His Divine Essence in heaven. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be
The Memorare to the Child Jesus
Remember, O Sweet Holy Child Jesus, that You have said to Venerable Sister Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, and to all of Your devotees, these words so full of consolation for our poor, burdened and suffering humanity: “Draw from this Divine Heart. Ask all that you desire through the merits of My Holy Childhood. Nothing will be refused to you." Full of confidence in Thee, O Jesus, Who are Truth itself, we come to make known all our misery to you. Help us to lead a Holy life in order to attain a Blessed Eternity. Grant us through the infinite Merits of Your Incarnation and of Your Childhood, the graces of which we are most in need. No, we shall not be deceived in our hope. We abandon ourselves to Thee, O Omnipotent Child, in virtue of Your Divine Promise, You will favorably receive and deign to grant our prayer. Amen.
The seven "O Antiphons" (also called the "Greater Antiphons" or "Major Antiphons") are prayers that come from the Breviary's Vespers during the Octave before Christmas Eve, a time which is called the "Golden Nights."
Each Antiphon begins with "O" and addresses Jesus with a unique title which comes from the prophecies of Isaias (Isaiah) and Micheas (Micah), and whose initial letters, when read backwards, form an acrostic for the Latin "Ero Cras" which means "Tomorrow I come." Those titles for Christ are:
Sapientia
Adonai
Radix Jesse
Clavis David
Oriens
Rex Gentium
Emmanuel2
Come, and bring forth the captive from his prison.
Traditional Antiphon: O Key of David, and Scepter of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens; Come and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israël, qui aperis, et nemo claudit, claudis, et nemo aperuit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
The key is the emblem of authority and power. Christ is the Key of the House of David who opens to us the full meaning of the scriptural prophecies, and reopens for all mankind the gate of Heaven.3
Isaias 22:22
And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Isaias 9:6
For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.
December 20
O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel! who openest, and no man shutteth: who shuttest, and no man openeth; come and lead the captive from prison, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.
O Jesus, Son of David! heir to his throne and his power! thou art now passing over, in thy way to Bethlehem, the land that once was the kingdom of thy ancestor, but now is tributary to the Gentiles. Scarce an inch of this ground which has not witnessed the miracles of the justice and the mercy of Jehovah, thy Father, to the people of that old Covenant, which is so soon to end. Before long, when thou hast come from beneath the virginal cloud which now hides thee, thou wilt pass along this same road doing good [Acts, x. 36.], healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity [St Matth. iv. 23.], and yet having not where to lay thy head? [St. Luke, ix. 58.] Now, at least, thy Mother's womb affords thee the sweetest rest, and thou receivest from her the profoundest adoration and the tenderest love. But, dear Jesus, it is thine own blessed will that thou leave this loved abode. Thou hast, O Eternal Light, to shine in the midst of this world's darkness, this prison where the captive, whom thou art come to deliver, sits in the shadow of death. Open his prison-gates by thy all-powerful key. And who is this captive, but the human race, the slave of error and vice? Who is this Captive, but the heart of man, which is thrall to the very passions it blushes to obey? Oh! come and set at liberty the world thou hast enriched by thy grace, and the creatures whom thou hast made to be thine own Brethren.
— Dom Prosper Gueranger
The Liturgical Year
CUSTOMS
For celebration of the O Antiphons from December 17-24, your family could prepare an O Antiphon House, a little cardboard house with eight hinged windows, each hiding the appropriate symbol for the O Antiphon of the day. There is also a ninth window depicting the Nativity scene for Christmas Day. The windows are opened one by one each day at the singing of the antiphon, or incorporated during the December 16-24 Christmas Novena. The house can be drawn on flat cardstock, or later shaped into a Tower, by bending the cardstock into a circle.
These instructions are based on ideas taken from Family Advent Customs by Helen McLoughlin, Twelve Days of Christmas by Elsa Chaney…4
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2024-12-20
https://fisheaters.com/customsadvent10.html
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2024-12-20
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=957