REFLECTION:

As we continue reflecting on the O Antiphons, my sister’s pregnancy has become a helpful image for understanding our waiting for the birth of Christ.

Much of what is happening in her pregnancy is unseen. Beneath her growing belly, a child is quietly forming—growing day by day, week by week. Though hidden, that life is real and active. As the due date approaches, the waiting becomes heavier, more intense, and more urgent. What has been growing in silence is now close to being revealed.

This is the image the Church places before us today in the O Antiphon:

“O Root of Jesse’s stem,

sign of God’s love for all his people:

come to save us without delay.”

The Root of Jesse speaks of something hidden yet full of life. Jesse was the father of King David, and from his family line God promised a Savior. Yet the prophecy does not speak of a throne or a crown—it speaks of a root. A root grows beneath the surface, unseen, but it is the source of life. Long before anything appears, the root is already at work.

In the same way, God had been quietly preparing salvation long before Christ’s birth. Through generations of waiting, through promises and prophecies, God was nurturing life beneath the surface of history—just as a child grows beneath the womb of a mother.

As Advent moves closer to Christmas, the Church’s prayer becomes more urgent. “Come to save us without delay” can sound very much like a pregnant mother nearing her due date, who cries out in exhaustion and hope, “Lord, help me—this child is ready to be born.” It is not a prayer of impatience, but of readiness. The waiting has done its work. The time has come.

The Root of Jesse is also a sign for all peoples. This child is born not for one family alone, but for the whole world. Christ comes to bring life where there was barrenness, hope where there was longing, and salvation where there was waiting.

As we draw near to Christmas, may we trust that even when we cannot see it, God is at work beneath the surface of our lives. New life is growing. Salvation is near. And what God has been patiently preparing will soon be revealed.

Where is God quietly growing new life in me during this season of waiting?