The Christmas Season begins with the First Sunday of Advent and continues through Epiphany to the Baptism of the Lord. It is one of our most intense, yet enriching times. Both the liturgy and the chants proper to this season express this intensity, moving from a sense of anticipation during Advent to the wonder of the Incarnation—God made man—and the joy of the Nativity.
The vestments for Advent are purple as in Lent, however, the penitential character is different than that of Lent. The accent of Advent is more centered on our spiritual purification in preparation to receive the Lord. The readings for Mass at the end of liturgical year have been sobering, with images of violence and turbulence, focusing on the end of time. The rebuke from the Book of Revelation is piercing: "I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first." It takes courage and humility to face the ways in which our love has gone cold, and grace to be willing to change. We, as Benedictines, take a Vow of Conversatio Morum, conversion of life that implies a willingness to change every day. The words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer say it best:
“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manager. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice! ”
—From a Sermon of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, December 2, 1928
THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
The First Sunday of Advent is sometimes called the "Stay Awake" Sunday as the readings call for us to be vigilant in anticipation of the coming of Christ: "...stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand." The coming of Christ for which we prepare is two-fold: His first coming at His birth, but also His Second coming at the end of time. The text of the Gregorian Chant pieces of the Mass come from Psalm 24, "Ad te levavi anima mea, to you I have lifted up soul." The Mode VIII Introit, a favorite of our monastic community, is joyful and hopeful and as the melody rises, is another reminder to "stay awake" as this season begins.
To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed:
neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded.
V. Show me, O Lord, Thy ways, and teach me Thy paths.
The Manger and the Cross
Beate Heinen 1986
Maria Laach Monastery
On the First Sunday of Advent this year our animals made visible to us the mission of Our Lord in His Incarnation. Our two pigs, Bon Bon and Blaise, were going to the mainland the following day to be sacrificed. 
Mother Ozanne and our intern Sarah have taken care of these beautiful pigs, born on nearby Lopez Island, all summer and fall. It is our custom to bless an animal before it is sacrificed out of respect and gratitude for their lives and the sustenance and joy they bring us. At dusk before Vespers by our pig pen we had a simple blessing. Our Chaplain, Father Ezekiel Lotz, OSB, prayed a Collect the Church offers, acknowledging the gift of God's creation and the creatures who abound there. 
We do not take for granted the fact that we are blessed to maintain a farm and raise animals to feed our community and our guests. These animals are a poignant reminder of the future of the Child to be born at Christmas, who will give His life for us and feed us with His Body in the Eucharist.
Amidst the terrible suffering in our world due to war and violence, one wonders if the joy of Christmas can be celebrated. Yet Pope St. Leo the Great (400—461 AD) in his famous homily of Christmas tells us: "Our Saviour, dearly Beloved, was born this day. Let us rejoice. Sadness is not becoming upon the Birth Day of Life Itself, which, now that the fear of death is ended, fills us with gladness, because of our own promised immortality." Still our hearts are heavy. The painting The Manger and the Cross by Beate Heinen is not a typical Christmas card. First we see the Holy Family in the cave in the foreground, but soon we follow the path uphill among flowering trees to the barren hill of Golgatha. As noted in a homily by Pastor Steve Sanchez in 2022: "The cradle must include the cross because the cross sheds light upon the cradle. It started in Bethlehem and ended in Calvary. Christmas is really the beginning of Easter."
Conditor Alme Siderum
At Vespers during Advent we sing the hymn Conditor Alme Siderum (Creator of the Stars). Classicist and Monastery friend, Joseph T. Moller has offered a new English translation of the hymn for your meditation.
Conditor alme siderum,
aeterna lux credentium,
Christe, redemptor omnium,
exaudi preces supplicum.
Qui condolens interitu
mortis perire saeculum,
salvasti mundum languidum,
donans reis remedium.
Vergente mundi vespere,
uti sponsus de thalamo,
egressus honestissima
Virginis matris clausula.
Cuius forti potentiae
genu curvantur omnia;
caelestia, terrestria
nutu fatentur subdita.
Te deprecamur hagie,
Venture iudex sæculi,
Conserve nos in tempore,
Hostis a telo perfidi.
Laus, honor, virtus, gloria
Deo Patri, et Filio,
Sancto simul Paraclito,
In sæculorum sæcula.
Amen.Creator and star nurturing
Eternal Light for believers
Christ Redeemer of all,
Hear the prayer of us suppliants.
Grieving that by the curse
Of death the universe should perish
You have saved the languishing world
Giving to the guilty remedy.
At the turning of the world’s evening
Like the bridegroom from his chamber
You came forth from the spotless
Virgin Mother’s cloister.
At the strength of your power
Every knee bends; all
Heavenly all earthy things
Confess you beneath the command of your nod.
You we entreat, O Holy One,
Who will come as Judge of the universe,
Keep us in due season
From the weapons of our wicked enemy.
Praise, honor, might, glory
To God the Father and to the Son
Together with the Holy Paraclete
Forever and ever.
Amen.
Advent Compline Hymn: Alma Redemptoris Mater
At the Office of Compline each night we sing a hymn to Our Lady which changes according to the liturgical season. On the First Sunday of Advent we begin singing the beautiful Alma Redemptoris Mater. Joseph T. Moller offers what he calls a new "interpretative translation" of the hymn, versicle, and collect which follow the hymn.
Linocut of Our Lady
by Mother Telchilde Hinckley
Alma Redemptoris Mater, quæ pervia cæli
Porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,
Surgere qui curat, populo: tu quæ genuisti,
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore
Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.
℣. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ.
℟. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.
Oremus.
Gratiam tuam quæsumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde; ut qui, angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui Incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem ejus et crucem, ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum.
℟. Amen.
Gentle Nurturing Redeemer's Mother, our passage to heaven's
Gate abiding, and Star of the Sea, hasten to succour us even as we fall
While yet trying to arise, your people; You who have borne,
To Nature's astonishment, your holy Creator
Virgin before as after, from the mouth of Gabriel
Accepting that Ave greeting, on us now have mercy.
V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Sprit.
Let us pray.
Your grace we ask you, Lord, on our minds to pour forth; that we, who, from the Annunciation of the angel, learned of the Incarnation of Christ, Your Son, through His passion and death to the glory of His Resurrection may be brought. Through that same Christ our Lord.
Beginning on December 17th until the Vigil of Christmas, the Great ‘O’ Antiphons are chanted each evening at Vespers. Notable for their distinct theological and musical excellence, they are prayed at Vespers because of the belief that it was at the evening hour of the world that the Savior was born. So as to also honor the Mother of God, they precede the Magnificat, Mary's prayer. Vespers is sung with great solemnity: candle-bearers stand on each side of the Hebdomadarian who, standing in the center of the monastic choir, intones the 'O' Antiphon and sings the special Collect for the day. The Magnificat is sung on the Solemn tone. All are invited to our Chapel to join us at 5:00 pm (4:30 on Sunday) for this liturgy.
We are pleased to present beautiful poetic English translations of the 'O' Antiphons by classicist, Joseph T. Moller, who offers some background to these ancient antiphons.
Listen to O Radix Jesse and the Solemn Magnificat sung by the Regina Laudis Choir.
As in every collect the central point of each antiphon is a petition. For these antiphons this is: veni, come, the hope of Advent. Veni radically speaks the meaning of Advent and our unqualified need for Christ to come into our lives.
The veni is followed by a specific expectation of a salvific action: teach, redeem, set free, enlighten, save, these actions increasing in intensity and scope from the first to the last antiphon. An acrostic is formed by the first letters of the antiphons, last to first: ERO CRAS: I will be there tomorrow.
DECEMBER 17thO Sapientia quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Wisdom,
Who from the mouth of the Most High has come forth,
Stretching forth to touch from limit unto limit
In strength and in delight
Forming and placing all things:
Come
To teach us the way of foresight.
DECEMBER 18thO Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
O Adonai,
And Leader of the house of Israel
Who to Moses in the fire of the burning bush appeared
And to him on Sinai the law gave:
Come
To redeem us with your arm outstretched.
DECEMBER 19thO Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
O Root of Jesse,
Who stands as a sign for the peoples
Before Whom kings will hold their mouths shut
And Whom the nations will implore:
Come
To set us free.
Now do not delay.
DECEMBER 20thO Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Key of David
And scepter of the house of Israel
You open and no one closes, you close and no one opens:
Come
And lead the captive
Down from the prison house
Who is sitting in darkness
And the shadow of death.
DECEMBER 21stO Oriens, splendor lucis æternæ, et sol justitiæ: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Rising Dawn
Splendor of light eternal
And Sun of Justice:
Come
And bring light to
Those sitting in darkness
And the shadow of death.
DECEMBER 22ndO Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.
O King of the Nations
And their Desired One
The corner stone Who makes both one:
Come
And save man
Whom from mud You formed.
DECEMBER 23rdO Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.
O Emmanuel
King and our Law Giver
Awaited One of the nations and their Saviour:
Come
To make us whole.
Lord, Our God.
(Translations of 'O' Antiphons courtesy of Joseph T. Moller: Copyright © 2013 The Abbey of Regina Laudis. All rights reserved.)