Antiphons in the Darkness: O Radix Jesse

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at whom kings shall shut their mouths, to whom the Gentiles shall seek; Come and deliver us, and tarry not.

Roots lie buried in the darkness and push out their shoots into the light. Likewise, the roots of our fathers lie buried in the past. Our ancestors lie buried in the earth, watered by the tears of those who love them in a tentative hope of Resurrection. The darkness of the past makes Man forget his roots. They lie covered by the weight of ages and we can only make conjectures about them until they are uncovered, piece by piece, little by little. Often our discoveries surprise us, or they make a revelation about who we are now, but the picture we get from palaeontology is only ever partial and still shrouded in darkness. Alternatively, we can know the root by the growth that springs forth into the light. If we, in our darkness nonetheless, graft ourselves into that root of faith first provided by God in Christ, then we can be sure that in Him we will grow out into the light and we shall bear good fruit in ourselves. That fruit will show the Truth of Christ even to the most powerful, and it will possess an enticing perfume. We become generated by Christ through His choice to be with His Church and it is from this root that we grow forth into His marvellous light.