Suzanne M. Lewis 12/17/21 Suzanne M. Lewis 12/17/21

The Great O’s

TL, DR: The Second Coming is now.

by Lucy Tucker Yates

The prayers of the O Antiphons, the Great Antiphons of Advent, are the most urgent, elegant condensation of humanness I know of. As in the circular breathing of an oboist, the words on our lips give life to generations past. They focus centuries of adoration, impatience, woundedness like a spotlight. They are the poetry I would send out into space.

TL, DR: The Second Coming is now.

by Lucy Tucker Yates

There is a song by Charles Ives (Memories I) that goes, "Weee're SIT-ting in the op-'ra house, the op'-ra house, the op'-ra house, We're WAIT-ing for the cur-tain to arise With won-ders for our eyes... A FEEL-ing of expec-tancy, A CER-tain kind of ec-stasy, Expectancy and ecstasy--Expectancy and ecstasy---SHHHHHHSSSSS!!!"

Such FEEL-ings surround and bind us together during Advent: we huddle in the grand theatre of heaven-and-earth, eager to see our hero revealed, ready for our leading man to light the shadows, right the wrongs, mete justice. The gaze of all is upon the stage.

How is such poetry fashioned? “Antiphon” comes from Greek ἀντίφωνον, “opposite voice,” and Socrates of Constantinople writes that Ignatius of Antioch (the third down from Saint Peter himself) introduced antiphony into worship after having a vision of two choirs of angels. Antiphons are often lifted from the Psalms or prophecies and designed for call and response, and to be sung as refrains.

So imagine everyone in the world, together, with the house lights dimmed, with or without ushers, with or without tickets, singing "O come, o come, Emmanuel." Remember how the hymn works: the first half of each verse invokes a Messianic title and attribute of Jesus, and the second half makes a request, drawing on His strength, from our weakness. "And ransom captive I-i-is-ra-el." Notice that the hymn is a beautiful and durable recasting (in the Aeolian mode), but know now that in the ancient Italian antiphons (the first, “O Sapientia,” appears in Boethius in the sixth century) the body–of prayer, of poetry, of past, of future–is suspended between the "O" and the "come".

Each verse calls on the Most High, offering a quality, a role, a memory, as a fan might smile up at the star: "Remember when you were the commander in that crazy long battle? You shredded that day. Can you come down and shred here?" Some petitions sound well-bred and -schooled: "come, and teach us the way of prudence." Some seem brisk, but really anxious: "don’t be slow, already!" All are predicated on His coming.

And the call is always the same–a great round vocative. "Vocative" comes from Latin “vox,” voice, and one of the glories of the human voice is the shape of O. Drop your jaw and try one. You may find that the air can't decide whether to rush out hot, as in relief or in pain, or to swoop in cold, as in shock or in awe, or to park and pop open the vocal folds, as in recognition. You are suspended in a tunnel, or a cave, or a cathedral, or a cheekily perfect dewdrop. A mouth like a portal. Round as a belly. Curved as Time.

Because God is master of inversion–we know the plot of our Trinitarian play works upside down, backwards, and inside out–the lines allow a neatly flipped acrostic mnemonic. Here are the names from end to beginning, from 23 to 17 December:

Emmanuel (God-with-us, the peoples' desire, giver of laws)
Rex Gentium (King of the Peoples, who made humankind from earth)
Oriens (Rising Star, Sun of justice)

Clavis David (Key of David, opener of locks, shutter of mouths)
Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse, life abiding in the tree that was cut down)
Adonai (Lord, Ruler over nature and the House of Israel)
Sapientia (Wisdom, the creating Logos and incarnate Word)

From the Parousia back to the creation. "Ero": "I will be [there]"; "cras": "tomorrow." The answer is within the questions: He is coming! He is the other “choir” in our antiphon! The secret voice, the wider circle! But when is "tomorrow"? Might verb tenses not work back and forth, too–or around and around? What if He is already here? What if we are all in the play?

We are presenting the antiphons in their traditional setting, framing the Magnificat, so as to hear the expectations of the leading Man amid the satisfactions of the expectant leading Lady. We are singing solos, but we represent the whole Church, who plays not only the part of the Prophets but that of the Mother of God.

When singing of the First Coming we always invoke the Second: when yearning for the Second we always echo the First. Try the O again, and this time raise your eyebrows and open the top half of your face. Lift your cheekbones and twinkle your eyes. There, don’t you feel like a child who’s discovered a secret? OHHHHH!! That’s the kind of O we don’t often see, because its wearer claps their hands in front of it to avoid giving too much away. Inside its arena, the Parousia is all one. Emanuel, God (already) with us.

And is this not the fullness-of-time itself? To seek to usher in on earth that which we ask the Redeemer to grant from Heaven? To meld the memory of Alpha and the desire of Omega? May we always be rounded to call and willing for His response: I will be there. I Am. Here. Now. May we always be caught between the expectancy of "Come" and the ecstasy of "O."

_________________________

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni
ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

        O Wisdom,
        which came out of the mouth of the Most High,
        and reaches from one end to another,
       mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
                   come,
                         and teach us the way of prudence.

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni
ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

        O Adonai,
        and leader of the house of Israel,
        who appeared in the bush to Moses in a flame of fire,
        and gave him the law on Sinai:
                    come
                       and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

O radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni
ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

        O Root of Jesse,
        which stands for an ensign of the people,
        at whom kings shall shut their mouths,
       and whom the Gentiles shall seek:
                    come
                        and deliver us, and tarry not.

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni,
et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

        O Key of David,
        and Scepter of the House of Israel,
        who opens and no one can shut,
        who shuts and no one can open:
                    come,
                        and bring the prisoners out of the prison-house,
                        them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni,
et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

        O Day-spring,
       brightness of the light everlasting,
        and Sun of righteousness:
                    come
                       and enlighten them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni,
et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.

        O King of nations and their desire;
        the Cornerstone, who makes them both one:
                  come
    and save mankind, whom you formed of clay.

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni
ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

        O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
        the desire of all nations and their salvation:
                   come
                       and save us, O Lord our God.

Suzanne M. Lewis 11/2/20 Suzanne M. Lewis 11/2/20

Special All Saints Day Prayers for the Double Novena (Day 7)

The vast majority of saints never defy the laws of physics and never have mystical experiences. Their one claim to heaven was love, and they loved so well, according to the pattern of love that Jesus showed us, that they initiated others into the Holy Trinity’s companionship of Love.

Two great men each died on November 3. Charles Borromeo passed away on that day in 1594, and exactly 45 years later, on a different continent, Martin de Porres died in 1639. Their lives overlapped by 15 years, but they never met; most likely neither… — Two great men each died on November 3. Charles Borromeo passed away on that day in 1594, and exactly 45 years later, on a different continent, Martin de Porres died in 1639. Their lives overlapped by 15 years, but they never met; most likely neither one ever heard of the other. *Here are the prayers for Day One*, *Day Two*, *Day Three*, *Day Four*, *Day Five, and* *Day Six*.
Scroll further down to find today’s novena prayers.

“There is only one tragedy in the end: Not to have been a saint.”
(Charles Péguy)

We would be in serious error if we were to imagine that St. Charles’ position as bishop and cardinal, or St. Martin’s gifts of bilocation and being able to communicate with animals, were what “made” them saints. Each of these men was, first and foremost, a practitioner of love. Their love was a divine love, not because it came with worldly honors or strange marvels, but because they loved without distinction, without “reserving” their love for the “deserving.” Like Christ, they loved the morally upright and also the sinners, the poor and the rich, those who were sick and those who were well. They loved everyone who happened across their human path, and they loved these people with all their energy and strength. That’s more than enough.

Our end of year campaign provides you with a way to collaborate in our mission to offer hope and healing during our uncertain time. Through education and the celebration of all that is good and true and beautiful, we seek to strengthen our human capacity for dialogue and mutual aid. Revolution of Tenderness is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations are tax deductible. Please be generous.

The Prayers:

St. Charles Borromeo
Day Six [All Saints]:

“Calling the saints to mind …arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company... We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins..” [Bernard of Clairvaux, Homily]

You, Lord, who have the power to renew the heavens, the earth, and all things, give to all of us that new heart, that new spirit which you promised us through the mouth of your prophet: And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26). Bestow it upon us, Lord, with such abundance that it will produce in us, efficaciously and constantly, new resolutions, new customs, a new way of life, and in the end, that eternal renewal which the new Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, already came into the world to bring us. With this help, our heart shall be enlarged, reforms will no longer seem hard, nor your service burdensome. But the yoke will be sweet and the weight of your holy commandments light to us. We ask this through your son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
[Charles Borromeo, “Booklet of Reminders”]

Preserve in the midst of your people,
we ask, O Lord, the spirit with which you filled
the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo,
that your Church may be constantly renewed
and, by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ,
may show his face to the world.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be

St. Martin de Porres
Day Seven [All Saints]:

“Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory.” [Bernard of Clairvaux, Homily]

Blessed is the man who is found without fault,
who does not make gold his life's object,
who does not put his trust in wealth.
- His future will be secure in the Lord.

Who is this man that we may praise him,
for he has done wonders in his life?
- His future will be secure in the Lord.

O God, who led Saint Martin de Porres
by the path of humility to heavenly glory,
grant that we may so follow his radiant example in this life
as to merit to be exalted with him in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
[Collect for the Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Roman Missal]

Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be

Suzanne M. Lewis 10/31/20 Suzanne M. Lewis 10/31/20

San Carlo and San Martín, Day 6

We are full of wonder and gratitude to announce that, due to the generosity of our most committed donors, we have already received over $8,000 in gifts; this brings us more than halfway to our end of year campaign goal of $14,000. We need you to join us in fostering dialogue and healing in the public sphere. Your contribution makes you a standard-bearer in the cause to build a culture of encounter and mutual respect. Please contribute to our end of year campaign today. Revolution of Tenderness is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations are tax-deductible.

Throughout our novena, we have been considering connections and confluences between St. Charles and St. Martin, but today we cannot help but think about St. Francis of Assisi when we read about St. Martin’s ability to communicate with animals and to tame wild bulls.

Both Francis and Martin valued begging as an important spiritual discipline. Because St. Francis and his brothers subsisted on whatever they could raise through begging, their association was called a “mendicant order;” meanwhile Martin approached the wealthy Spanish nobles of Lima to ask for funds to support the orphanage and the medical clinic he founded. Each saint was a catalyst for the free flow of money across castes and classes.

Being able to approach wealthy donors in freedom and confidence requires great humility. Perhaps the power to connect with animals is a sign of a saint’s simplicity or a gift that results from radical humility.

*The full-length version of this image shows Martin with his animal friends*

The Prayers:

St. Charles Borromeo
Day Five:

If your job is teaching and preaching, then study diligently and apply yourself to whatever is necessary for doing the job well. Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head. [Charles Borromeo, Homily]

Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be

St. Martin de Porres
Day Six:

There are many “accounts of the wonders Martin worked with animals. ... For example, when the novices brought two bulls into the convent for a mock bullfight and the antagonized bovines started to attack for real, Martin came to the rescue—by reasoning with the bulls. They heard him out and obeyed. Giving them a snack, Martin instructed the elder bull to let the younger eat first, as was the common practice in the convent. The bull respectfully complied, and nuzzled Martin as if kissing his habit.” [Jordan Zajac, O.P.]

Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be

Suzanne M. Lewis 10/31/20 Suzanne M. Lewis 10/31/20

Your One Wild and Precious Life: End of Year Campaign

We are full of wonder and gratitude to announce that, due to the generosity of our most committed donors, we have already received over $8,000 in gifts, which bring us more than halfway to our end of year campaign goal of $14,000. We need you to join us in building a culture of dialogue and healing in the public sphere. Your contribution makes you a standard-bearer in the cause to build a culture of encounter and mutual respect.

Our theme for Festival of Friendship 2021 Photo courtesy of: Sister Thea Bowman Cause for Canonization — Our theme for Festival of Friendship 2021
Photo courtesy of: *Sister Thea Bowman Cause for Canonization*

by Suzanne M. Lewis

We have found that the best tools for fostering true dialogue and effecting real healing within our broken culture are humanities education and free cultural events.

Humanities Education

Despite an overall increase of 29% in bachelor’s degrees awarded over the ten-year period ending in 2016, the steady decline in the number of humanities degrees conferred has only accelerated. In 1967, 17.2% of all degrees conferred were in the humanities. By 2014, that figure was down to 6.1%. Why should this precipitous drop concern us?

The very name “humanities” provides the answer: the various subjects that make up the humanities provide a curriculum for becoming more human. The more we lose touch with the humanities, the more we lose access to certain dimensions of our own humanity.

“Where scientific observation addresses all phenomena existing in the real world, scientific experimentation addresses all possible real worlds, and scientific theory addresses all conceivable real worlds, the humanities encompass all three of these levels and one more, the infinity of all [imaginable] worlds.” ― biologist, Edward O. Wilson

The humanities teach us how to extract and absorb facts from a document, how to interpret data, particularly in relation to the whole field of knowledge, and how to evaluate whether a claim is true or false; they also show us how to formulate an argument and find evidence to support our own claims; most importantly, they put us in conversation with others who grapple with the same human questions that preoccupy us, expose us to other perspectives, and open us to continuous learning – even teaching us how to learn from those with whom we disagree.

A quick visit to a handful of social media platforms, or a cursory scan of the headlines for competing news outlets, provides overwhelming evidence of how the tragic decrease in humanities education has had devastating effects on our public discourse.

“Depth of understanding involves something which is more than merely a matter of deconstructive alertness; it involves a measure of interpretative charity and at least the beginnings of a wide responsiveness.” ― English literature scholar, Stefan Collini

With these considerations in mind, Revolution of Tenderness has founded Convivium: A Journal of Arts, Culture, and Testimony, Convivium Press, and the Festival of Friendship. Each of these initiatives provides educational tools and programming to introduce humanities education into the public sphere. We sell our journal, and all other educational resources, at cost so that they may be accessible to the greatest number of people. Our free cultural programming offers content from pre-eminent scholars and experts while modeling the practice of respectful dialogue.

Free Cultural Events

The annual Festival of Friendship, our largest free and open cultural event, contributes a celebratory dimension to our educational work. This year, though we had to move the Festival online, we had nearly 1,300 attendees, a new record for us!

While our printed texts, videos, and other materials provide crucial substance, our events confer a body with living, human features. Without this living body, learning becomes a dry and toilsome duty, a “prize” to capture and use, or a meaningless intellectual exercise. Instead, our free events serve as life-giving feasts for the human heart and mind.

Our next exciting project will involve a commission for a new piece of music from composer Richard Danielpour, who spoke at the Festival of Friendship last month. The projected performance will take place in early 2021. We’ll provide further details as they become available.

Our working hypothesis, that “all things cry out in unison for one thing: Love” (13th Century friar and poet, Jacopone da Todi), allows us to “assume an extended shared world” (Stefan Collini) and meet anyone and everyone with curiosity and an embrace. Our festive gatherings serve as laboratories, where speakers and performers present their findings and launch new experiments in human flourishing.

Your generous support for Revolution of Tenderness makes you a creative protagonist who generates a culture of dialogue in the public arena. Please contribute to our end of year campaign today. Revolution of Tenderness is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations are tax-deductible.

Suzanne M. Lewis 10/29/20 Suzanne M. Lewis 10/29/20

St. Charles and St. Martin, Day 4

Martin was able to raise extraordinary sums of money because he was willing to visit the Spanish nobles of Peru in order to beg on behalf of the poor and suffering. Emboldened by his example, we would like to beg that you donate to Revolution of Tenderness.

When he was 15 years old, Martin entered the convent of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, a Dominican priory in Lima, Peru. Because of racist regulations, Martin couldn’t apply to enter as a postulant; instead he asked to be accepted as a servant. He began by cooking, cleaning, and laundering but because of the training he’d received as a barber’s apprentice, he was soon given responsibility for the monastery’s infirmary; later, he was also given the task of almoner; in this role, he raised the astonishing sum of $2,000 per week, enough to feed and support up to 160 poor inhabitants of Lima. He earned the title, “Martin the Charitable” through his constant attention to the poor and needy of Lima. One day a filthy beggar, covered in sores, reached his hand out, and Martin immediately lifted him up and carried him to his own bed. When one of his fellow monks told him that this was going too far, Martin replied, “Compassion, my dear Brother, is preferable to cleanliness. Reflect that with a little soap I can easily clean my bed covers, but even with a torrent of tears I would never wash from my soul the stain that my harshness toward the unfortunate would create.”

The Prayers:

St. Charles Borromeo
Day Three:

Take note of how the apostles awaited the promise of the Holy Spirit with the most ardent desire, and enclosed in the Upper Room for ten days continuously, they all persevered with one soul in their prayers. What do you think the unity of theirs signified, if not charity and concord which are so necessary in your homes? Take care always to maintain peace and tranquility in the house. Come forward, most beloved souls, open the door of your heart to the Spirit; prepare your houses.
[Charles Borromeo, “Booklet of Reminders”]

Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be

St. Martin de Porres
Day Four:

“St. Martin did not blame others for their shortcomings. Certain that he deserved more severe punishment for his sins than others did, he would overlook their worst offenses. He was tireless in his efforts to reform the criminal, and he would sit up with the sick to bring them comfort. For the poor he would provide food, clothing and medicine. He did all he could to care for poor farmhands, blacks, and mulattoes who were looked down upon as slaves, the dregs of society in their time. Common people responded by calling him, ‘Martin the charitable.’”
[St. John XXIII]

Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be

Suzanne M. Lewis 10/20/20 Suzanne M. Lewis 10/20/20

St. Jude Novena: A Proposed Revision

We could think of a novena as a nine-day preparation to celebrate a liturgical feast. Like a “little Advent,” the novena could help to purify and convert our hearts so that we can find ourselves in the strongest possible position to receive the graces that Christ wants to offer us through the intercession of a particular saint. The Eucharist, as the source and summit of our faith life, provides the richest, most effective food for prayer life.

*“St Jude Thaddeus,” by Georges de la Tour, 1650*

How are novenas effective? What does a novena actually do?

“I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I'm supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I'm praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.” St. Teresa of Kolkata

If we look at novenas in this way, perhaps the best texts for us to meditate on in the days leading up to the celebration of a particular liturgical Memorial or Solemnity would be those ancient prayers that the Church herself gives us through the Roman Missal and the Breviary. To compose a novena from these rich sources could offer us a powerful method for growing in love and holiness. Following this logic, we’d like to offer an alternative to the “traditional” Novena to St. Jude, one that is paradoxically more deeply rooted in Tradition because it is based on the Rites and liturgical prayers that the Church has ordained for the celebration of the saint’s feast day.

Day One (Beginning today): “Our Lord Jesus Christ has appointed certain men, including the holy apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, to be guides and teachers of the world and stewards of his divine mysteries” (From a commentary on the gospel of John by St Cyril of Alexandria, bishop).

O God, who by the blessed Apostles
have brought us to acknowledge your name,
graciously grant,
through the intercession of Saint Jude,
a holy man whom you chose in your own perfect love,
that the Church may constantly grow
by increase of the peoples who believe in you.
For you, eternal Shepherd,
do not desert your flock,
but through the blessed Apostles
watch over it and protect it always,
so that it may be governed
by those you have appointed shepherds,
like St. Jude Thaddeus, to lead it.
We glorify your name, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.