A Sign for the People

It is Saturday afternoon in the third week of Advent. At this hour, here in New York City's Little Italy, the skies are gray and it's flurrying -- barely a dusting of snow on the fire escape.

There was a parade down Mulberry Street a little bit ago with lots of musicians, some of whom I can still hear in the distance.

Christmas approaches.

This evening's "O" Antiphon refers to Jesse:

"O Root of Jesse, who stood as a sign for the people, before you kings shall remain silent, and to you the Gentiles shall make supplication: come to deliver us, and delay not."

In Latin, "O Root of Jesse" is "O Radix Jesse":