Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

December 20, 2016

Today’s Thought — Forth Antiphon: “O Key of David”

O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!

The royal keys were a symbol of the king’s authority. The one who held the keys determined not only who had access to the royal stores, but held in his hands the fate of all those who approached the throne. Jesus, the “Key of David” was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy of the great King that would arise and rule from David’s throne – and who would entrust the keys to Peter and the apostles, to bind and loose in his name (Matthew 16:19, 18:18).

Is there an area of your life you struggle to surrender to the teachings of the Church? Is there something that needs to be bound (or loosened) in confession?

O Key of David,

speak with authority to the hearts of your servant,

that I might rest in confidence and trust.

I know that you can change situations that, humanly speaking, seem impossible.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!

To read the full readings for today, click here.

Advent Reflections Courtesy of:

Heidi is a wife and adoptive mother, contributing writer to WINE, and author of Advent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta and the follow-up companion, Lent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Servant, released January 2017). Heidi received a graduate degree in theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit in 2012, having converted to the Catholic faith in 1995 from the evangelical tradition. She met her husband, Craig, at the University of Michigan Ballroom Dance Club, and lives with her family (including two special-needs teenagers, a longsuffering Aussie shepherd and a snuggly Chiweenie) near South Bend, Indiana.