WDTPRS 24 December – COLLECT (2002MR)

The Collect for today’s Mass in the 2002MR, the last of Advent, brings us to the very threshold of the humble place where the Lord was born.

COLLECT (2002MR):
Festina, quaesumus, ne tardaveris, Domine Iesu,
ut adventus tui consolationibus subleventur,
qui in tua pietate confidunt
.

The tardaveris form is a perfect subjunctive as a kind of imperative.  Remember that adventus here is a genitive with tui.   Pietas, when it refers to man has to do with "duty", but when applied to God, it becomes "mercy… pity".

Sublevo means, basically, "to lift up from beneath, to raise up, hold up, support", but it comes to mean, "to sustain, support, assist, encourage, console any one in misfortune".  The perfect way to describe this vale of tears in which we journey.

LITERAL VERSION:
Hurry, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus, and tarry not,
that those who rely upon Thy mercy
may be sustained by the consolations of Thy Coming.

Had the Lord not entered into human history, what would sustain us?  What would sustain creation itself, groaning as it does under the weight of the Fall.

The Collect looks simultaneously back to the Nativity of the Eternal Word made man, but also forward to the Second Coming.  We are consoled at the Coming of the Lord, in history and in the time to come. 

The Christian always says "Come, Lord Jesus.  Maranatha.   Come."

May the Lord’s coming and promise of return console any of you who are burdened with sorrow. Many people feel at times inconsolable. This time of year can be a annual trial of despair and sadness for so many who are alone and suffering.

In imitation of the Lord, console others.  You know someone, I am sure.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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One Comment

  1. Therese says:

    The Christ Child comes to earth and what do I see in Him? Not the splendor of Heaven but my own poverty and helplessness. What a mystery this is, and what a consolation. Thank you, Fr. Z, for providing these reflections.

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