What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Here is the Collect for Saturday of the 2nd Week of Advent.

This prayer has its roots in Rotulus 19 published with the Veronese Sacramentary.  It is also in Gelasian Sacramentary.  It was not in any edition of the Missale Romanum before the Council.

COLLECT:
Oriatur, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, in cordibus nostris,
splendor gloriae tuae,
ut, omni noctis obscuritate sublata,
filios nos esse lucis Unigeniti tui manifestet adventus.

Unless you get that sublata right in the ablative absolute construction, you may go insance working this out.  There are two verbs which cough up the form sublata.  We turn to the mighty The Lewis & Short Latin Dictionary for insight.  First, there is suffero  (subf- ), sustu­li, sublatum, sufferre ("to carry under, to put or lay under"; "to hold up, bear, support, sustain").  Then there is tollo, sustuli, sublatum ("to lift or take up, to raise, always with the idea of motion upwards or of removal from a former situation").  You can see the verbs are related, but the impact they have is entirely different.

LITERAL VERSION:
May the splendor of Your glory arise in our hearts,
Almighty God, we beseech You,
so that once all darkness of night is lifted,
the Coming of Your Only-Begotten may reveal us to be children of the light.

ANOTHER WAY TO DO IT:
Let the splendor of your glory dawn in our hearts,
we pray, almighty God,
that, all shades of the night once scattered,
we may be shown to be children of light
by the advent of your Only-begotten Son.

This time of year we of the Northern hemisphere have the constant reminder of the passing of this world written in to the very rhythm of our day.  Not only do the long nights remind us of this world’s brevity, but they evoke in us a deep longing for the light. 

Reflection on our sins must also be a unquieting journey into the darkness we inflict on ourselves and others. 

The undying Light is there, however. 

Ultimately we need not be afraid. 

We have much to do, however, to be children of the light and not the darkness so that God can bring to completion in us what He began in our cooperation.

I had a very strange dream last night.

I am not sure, but I think the Legionarires of Christ might actually be…. Cylons!

Never mind that I watched a couple of episodes of Battlestar Galactica last evening (thanks to the folks who sent them!), or that I ate some really spicy food.

Nevertheless, could the Legionaries be Cylons?  They look like us.  At the same time, they all look alike!  And they are among us!

Think about how every episode opens. 

The Cylons [play intro music now]:

 

 Battlestar Galactica Intro [0:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hmmm….

... and what about the … the… Salesians? 

I wonder.

I understand there is an article in the archdiocesan newspaper for San Francisco explaining that norms have been issued for the Archdiocese.  Also, that article was posted on the website of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. 

The article says that the norms have been sent to the priests.

I would very much like to see a copy.

"But Father! But Father!", you might be saying.  "Isn’t the article enough?  Why do you want to see the norms?"

Here’s why.

The article says (my emphases):

Focusing primarily on celebration of the Mass, although other sacraments are mentioned, the new local regulations spell out requirements for clerical competency in the pre – conciliar form of the Eucharistic liturgy and provide some specifics on pastoral questions. The norms, for example:

Require that archdiocesan priests "give evidence of their ability with the Latin language as well as adequate knowledge of the rubrics for the proper celebration according to the 1962 missal " before they may celebrate in the older form; a priest not of the Archdiocese is required to "provide an authentic letter of good standing "and assurance of liturgical competency from his bishop or religious superior to the archdiocesan vicar for clergy or chancellor; Define " stable group " of parishioners who may seek a regular celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form as 30 persons" in the same location and in an ongoing manner. "

This excerpt from the article about the norms suggests some desire to place limitations on the provisions of the Supreme Pontiff which are now in force. 

However… it would be good to see the norms.