{"id":3296,"date":"2019-12-18T00:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T05:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/?p=3296"},"modified":"2019-12-18T09:46:32","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T14:46:32","slug":"dec-18-o-antiphon-2-robert-frost-sun-or-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2019\/12\/18\/dec-18-o-antiphon-2-robert-frost-sun-or-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Dec 18 O Antiphon # 2 \u2013 Robert Frost \u2014 sun or stars?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday, December 18 \u00a0\u2013 \u00a0\u201cto ease attention off when overtight\u201d<\/p>\n

We are 4 days out from the winter solstice (http:\/\/www.calendarpedia.com\/when-is\/winter-solstice.html<\/a>). \u00a0 But that\u2019s for the future. \u00a0Now, deep into December\u2019s winter, \u00a0is a time to treat long nights with respect (today: sunrise 7:56 am \u2013 sunset 5:01 pm). \u00a0 Robert Frost writes about dim light more as an essential need than a grinding burden. When he calls the interruption of the night \u201cmore divine than any bulb or arc\u201d he refers to arc lights and light bulbs. \u00a0Arc lights were the first economically feasible source of electrical-power-based artificial light. \u00a0Immensely bright, they hurt your eyes to look at and so were hard to manage. \u00a0Hard to breathe around them too because they gave off what people often called \u201cnoxious fumes.\u201d \u00a0Back in 1875, though, people thought of them as the march of progress.<\/p>\n

R Frost had another idea, as poets often do. \u00a0The O Antiphon sings of Adonai as Lord and Leader appearing in the fire of the burning bush of Moses in the Sinai.<\/p>\n

Best to read the poem out loud, \u00a0with pauses. \u00a0 Today\u2019s early winter sky dawns with crystal clear sunshine and a medley of gusty winds and traces of cloud.\u00a0 When the winter night\u2019s dance arrives, \u00a0may its precious dark anoint you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post<\/strong>: \u00a0\u00a0Robert Frost \u201cThe Literate Farmers and the Planet Venus\u201d<\/p>\n

Here come the stars to character the skies,
\nAnd they in the estimation of the wise
\nAre more divine than any bulb or arc,
\nBecause their purpose is to flash and spark,
\nBut not to take away the precious dark.
\nWe need the interruption of the night
\nTo ease attention off when overtight,
\nTo break our logic in too long a flight,
\nAnd ask us if our premises are right<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

O Antiphon # 2 \u00a0\u2013 \u201cO Adonai<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cO Lord above and ruler of the house of Israel,
\nwho appeared to Moses in the flaming bush,
\nwho gave the Law to him on Mt Sinai
\nCome and save us with your strong arm\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

To listen to the Antiphon sung in Gregorian Chant
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CvafrxZ_Ww4<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Frost 1874-1963<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday, December 18 \u00a0\u2013 \u00a0\u201cto ease attention off when overtight\u201d We are 4 days out from the winter solstice (http:\/\/www.calendarpedia.com\/when-is\/winter-solstice.html). \u00a0 But that\u2019s for the future. \u00a0Now, deep into December\u2019s winter, \u00a0is a time to treat long nights with respect … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3296"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3296"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3297,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3296\/revisions\/3297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}