O Dayspring, O Morning Star, O Rising Sun

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

On December 21, the Church identifies Jesus as a Morning Star.

O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. (The Latin can be translated to read: "O Dayspring," or "O Rising Sun.")

The first reading for the Mass at Midnight on Christmas identifies us and our Hebrew brothers and sisters as people who live in darkness. Indeed, the human situation seems to be growing ever darker. The events of this past Friday in Newtown, Connecticut, have brought the perspective of darkness in sharp focus. Unfortunately, as the police chief of the city of Chicago said on Monday, in the end, no one will do anything about it. Our divisions have so paralyzed us that we are no longer capable of acting on own behalf. Truly, the only one who can lead us out of this darkness is Jesus, the sun of righteousness.

We sing with Zechariah as his tongue was loosed to praise God for giving him a son and for keeping the promise to send us a Savior: And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace. (Luke 1:76-79)