Christmas is almost here, just a few days remain. Today, we listen and reflect on the sixth and next to last antiphon: O come, Desire of nations... This title for the Messiah, for Jesus, begs the question: is he really the Desire of the nations? We look at the words of Haggai the prophet to learn more. On the podcast during this season of Advent we have been exploring themes within a particular 'hymn' that has helped worshippers prepare for Jesus's arrival. Since the 8th century, the Church has been singing the “O” antiphons. An antiphon is a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle. The “O” antiphons are so named as each line begins

I had the privilege of being interviewed by Chad Burmeister on the You Matter to Christ podcast which recently aired. The interview, about 30 min long, had me reflecting on a bit of my own journey as a chaplain and as a Christian. One of the most interesting questions that Chad asked me was, "What would the younger self say to my self today?" I usually have pondered this question in reverse and I felt like this was a great twist to a common way of reflecting. You'll have to listen to the podcast to hear what I said! You can hear the podcast here. It is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and other listening apps, you

This week, we can sense and feel that Christmas is drawing nearer. As listen and reflect on the fifth antiphon: O come, thou Daysprings, come and cheer... we look at this unique title that is given to Jesus through the words of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. On the podcast during this season of Advent we have been exploring themes within a particular 'hymn' that has helped worshippers prepare for Jesus's arrival. Since the 8th century, the Church has been singing the “O” antiphons. An antiphon is a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle. The “O” antiphons are so named as each line begins with an “O” — perhaps the most famous

We continue exploring the Advent Antiphons and the Western church has finally started the season of Advent with the second Sunday upcoming. This week, we look and listen to the fourth antiphon: O come, thou Key of David, come... On the podcast during this season of Advent we have been exploring themes within a particular 'hymn' that has helped worshippers prepare for Jesus's arrival. Since the 8th century, the Church has been singing the “O” antiphons. An antiphon is a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle. The “O” antiphons are so named as each line begins with an “O” — perhaps the most famous of these are the words and verse which begins: O

For the past few weeks, we've been exploring the Advent Antiphons. This week, we look and listen to the third antiphon: O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free... During this time of year (as we approach Christmas), for the podcast we will look at a particular 'hymn' that has helped worshippers prepare for Jesus's arrival. Since the 8th century, the Church has been singing the “O” antiphons. An antiphon is a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle. The “O” antiphons are so named as each line begins with an “O” — perhaps the most famous of these are the words and verse which begins: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Altogether, there are 7 antiphons.