Piscotikus.com

O Emmanuel

piscotikus — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:22:21 +0000

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

ENGLISH: O Emmanuel (God with us), our King and lawgiver, the expectation of the nations and their Savior: come to save us, O Lord our God.

Scripture Reference:

Isaiah 7:14; 8:8
Matthew 1:23
Haggai 2:7

Relevant verse of Veni, Veni Emmanuel:

O come, o come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

O King

piscotikus — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:27:51 +0000

The full post from WDTPRS.com

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

ENGLISH: O King of the gentiles/nations and their desired One, the cornerstone that makes both one: come, and deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.

Scripture Reference:

Revelation 15:3
Psalm 118:22
Isaiah 28:16
Matthew 21:42
Mark 12:10
Luke 20:17
Acts 4:11
Ephesians 2:20
I Peter 2:6

Relevant verse of Veni, Veni Emmanuel:

O come, Desire of nations, bind,
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of peace.

O Radiant Dawn

piscotikus — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:21:09 +0000

The full post from WDTPRS.com

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

ENGLISH: O dawn of the east, brightness of light eternal, and sun of justice: come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Scripture Reference:

Luke 1:78, 79
Malachi 4:2

Relevant verse of Veni, Veni Emmanuel:

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer,
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O Key of David

piscotikus — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:03:10 +0000

Click to read the full WDTPRS post.

LATIN: 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.

ENGLISH: 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.

Scripture Reference:

Isaiah 22:22
Revelation 3:7

Relevant verse of Veni, Veni Emmanuel:

O come, thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

O Root of Jesse

piscotikus — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:48:29 +0000

From WDTPRS (click for the whole post)

Here is the O Antiphon for 19 December: O Radix Jesse

Again O Lord is presented a the Liberator.

LATIN: O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.

ENGLISH: O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.

Scripture References:

Isaiah 11:10
Romans 15:12
Revelation 5:5

Relevant verse of Veni, Veni Emmanuel:

O come, O Rod of Jesse free,
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.

O Adonai

piscotikus — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:25:50 +0000

Read Father Z’s commentary here.

The O Antiphons: 18 December – O Adonai

LATIN: 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.

ENGLISH: O Lord and Ruler the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: come, and redeem us with outstretched arms.

Relevant verse of Veni, Veni Emmanuel:

O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty, and awe.

NOTE: I’d been wanting to post the O antiphons. Father Z is doing the same with commentary, so I’ll link to his post each day.

On Tebow

piscotikus — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:00:26 +0000

An interesting and good article on Tim Tebow from WSJ.

O Wisdom

piscotikus — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 05:14:07 +0000

Antiphon for vespers Dec 17.

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,

attingens a fine usque ad finem,

fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:

veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

Dido

piscotikus — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:09:13 +0000

My grandfather (Dido [GEE-DOO] in Ukrainian) is ill. The human heart can handle only so much, and it’s a wonder that he’s still with us after numerous heart attacks. The past 3 weeks for him have not been good and his health has deteriorated. Yet even now as he nears the end of a rich life, he is thankful for the situation he is in. “Oh well. I am lucky. It could be worse”, he’s said on a few occasions recently.

Indeed it could be. But as he nears the end of his life, I look at what he’s taught me. He grew up poor in the Ukraine and his father died before he had a chance to know him. As a young man he was taken from his home by Germans to fight for them. Recalling this event he said that, “it’s the best thing that happened to me” as the journey that started by being taken by Germans ended up leading him to Auburn, NY. He may not put it this way, but it is evident to me, “God’s ways are not our ways.” So often I’ve taken much of my life for granted. A life I truly don’t deserve. But in times like these, one looks at the bigger picture and can appreciate what led to me being where I am today. And I am thankful. It was hard for me to say Thank You. But given the fact that he’s so hard of hearing made the encounter quite humorous.

Steve Jobs quotes have been floating around quite a bit since his death. Given the circumstances my family faces, this one stands out: “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” My grandpa was a poor farm boy and had nothing to lose but his family. And I’m not sure if he ever saw his mother again. But he was grateful for the opportunity to come to America, and it led to a better life for me.

But what about me? What do I have to lose? I’m going to die someday. If I don’t keep that in mind, then I start taking every day for granted, even though it’s a gift. It’s so easy these days to take things for granted, and it’s when I do that I find my relationship with God at it’s worst. Matthew Kelly asks us to look at our lives. Every decision can lead us to be the best-version-of-ourselves or not. I’ve made some bad decisions and I still do every day. Nobody’s perfect. However Dido has taught me not to take anything for granted. To live every day as if it could be my last. To love my family more. To be better at all I set out to do. To not fear anything. I will try my best.

Steve Jobs tried being the best Steve Jobs he could be. It was hard work and he is truly an inspiration. Dido tried to be the best Nick he could be. We all have different roles in God’s plan. Most people are not called to change the world. Most people are called to change their world. My dido did that.

Please keep my family in your prayers.

Christian Rock

piscotikus — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:00:26 +0000

An interesting post from Virtuouspla.net

To begin my 99 Theses, most Christian rock is imitation. ‘Jesus Saves’ – and just about every song you hear on Christian radio – follows to the last, sickly sweet, catchy detail the Pop-music template. It’s essentially a bad Pop song with lyrics about Jesus, complete with the Verse/Pre-Chorus/Chorus/Verse/Pre-Chorus/Second Chorus/Bridge/Quiet Chorus, sshhhh/OK WE’RE BACK AT THE LAST CHORUS OMG standard, the 4-chord refrain, the kick drum hammering out every beat during the chorus (just like Lady Gaga!); everything. This imitation is nothing new, in fact it could be well argued that Christian Rock was founded on a culture of imitation. One of first recognized Christian Rock albums is entitled ”Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?”, which rather neatly sums up the first part of the problem; Why Are Christians Still Imitating the World? Think on this: If worship is our response to God’s grace, why are we satisfied with so banal a response? Now, this is not to say that you might not have liked the song above. Sure, why not? But this I guarantee: You like it as a Pop song. You probably like it in the same way you liked The Fray’s Cable Car, great, fun to come back to, but after a couple listening’s on the radio, well we’re done, give me something new. Why is it that when we turn our eyes to God we end up writing the same structure and sound as when Katy Perry lifts her eyes to…well, whatever she’s lifting her eyes to? Scratch that, Perry is more original.

I tend to agree. Most Christian rock sounds the same. It’s why my liking tends toward Third Day. It’s different. Jeff Miller at the always great Curt Jester blog recently wrote that Christian Rock subscribes to Sturgeon’s Law and is 90% crud. Theodore Stergeon said that 90% of all science fiction is crud because science fiction conforms to the same trends of quality as all other artforms.