O
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.
 |
| By Enid Chadwick |
O Jesus, Son of David! heir to his throne and his power! thou art now
passing over, in thy way to Bethlehem, the land that once was the
kingdom of thy ancestor, but now is tributary to the Gentiles. Scarce
an inch of this ground which has not witnessed the miracles of the
justice and the mercy of Jehovah, thy Father, to the people of that
old Covenant, which is so soon to end. Before long, when thou hast
come from beneath the virginal cloud which now hides thee, thou wilt
pass along this same road doing good [Acts, x. 36.], healing all
manner of sickness and every infirmity [St Matth. iv. 23.], and yet
having not where to lay thy head? [St. Luke, ix. 58.] Now, at least,
thy Mother's womb affords thee the sweetest rest, and thou receivest
from her the profoundest adoration and the tenderest love. But, dear
Jesus, it is thine own blessed will that thou leave this loved abode.
Thou hast, O Eternal Light, to shine in the midst of this world's
darkness, this prison where the captive, whom thou art come to
deliver, sits in the shadow of death. Open his prison-gates by thy
all-powerful key. And who is this captive, but the human race, the
slave of error and vice? Who is this Captive, but the heart of man,
which is thrall to the very passions it blushes to obey? Oh! come and
set at liberty the world thou hast enriched by thy grace, and the
creatures whom thou hast made to be thine own Brethren.
