O radix Jesse

O radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populórum, super quem continébunt reges os suum, quem Gentes deprecabúntur : veni ad liberándum nos, jam noli tardáre.

O Root of Jesse, Who standest as a sign of the people, towards Whom the kings hold their tongues, Whom the Gentiles shall implore : Come for to deliver us, now do not delay!

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

There are many allusions to the Tree in Holy Scripture. The Tree of the fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Tree of Jesse, and the Holy Tree of the Cross.

The tree is a sign that has stood with us for centuries with sacred symbolism. The Norse Myths have Yggdrasil as the binding component of heaven and earth with a root in Hell (Niflheim) gnawed by the wyrm Níðhöggr, the branches stretching into the heavens.

This Pagan tree of Yggdrasil points very directly to the Tree of Christ. The Legend of St Boniface cutting down the Pagan tree to prevent the sacrifice of a Child (thus providing the world with a Christmas tree) shows us the sign of Christ standing in our homes each Christmas, if we bother to see Him amid the modern idols that have been set up at Christmas.

It is Odin who breaks off a branch of Yggdrasil to fashion into a spear with which he will fight. He claims control of Yggdrasil. Likewise, we human beings claim ownership of the world and its resources, all the fruits of Creation are ours for the plucking, or so we thought, as we now see our handiwork in a lest fruitful light.

It is from the Tree of Life that Our Lady is fruitful. The fruit of this tree undoes the captivity of men, be they pauper, prince, peasant or pope. It is the sight of the Crucified king on a tree with the Queen Mother, a little Jewish lady that silences all the claims to authority, of ownership and control of the tree. The Tree is God's and rather than ravish it, He nourishes it with His own Blood, and so nourishes His own people.

This Tree of Life which stretches back centuries will fill the hungry with good things. The Tree of the World cannot nourish us; its fruit cannot sustain us any more than prolong a worldly existence: those who are rich in this will become increasingly ravenous.