Today it is the second Sunday of Advent. I have read Isaiah 11:1-7, the passage of the day from the Old Testament of the Roman Breviary.

Again it is a famous passage. It gives an image about a time -the end of times- when animals, wild and tame live together, lead by a little child: “The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down ( Read more... )

It is late now, I had a Winter Fair till nine o’clock in the evening. Tomorrow I must go there again.

The text of the breviary today is Isaiah 7:1-3; Isaiah 7:10-14. In this text is promises God that the messiah will be born. Het does that to a panicking King Ahaz, who is afraid his kingdom will be run over by invading countries. These are the words ( Read more... )

It is Advent and I am reading the old Roman Breviary. This book stems from the Middle- Ages and is filled with bible-texts and prayers for each day of the year. During Advent the bible texts are from Isaiah, a prophet. His texts are full of his wonderful and sometimes disturbing wrathful visions. Between the verses of the bible texts there are ( Read more... )

In the breviary today is a story about a vineyard, Isaiah 5:1-7. It starts lovely: “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up, gathered out its stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in its midst, and also cut out a winepress therein.” Then it turns out the vineyard is a disappointment. “He looked for it to ( Read more... )

Today it is Wednesday in the first week of Advent. I have very little time, today and the following days, so I will not always be able to post an entry about Isaiah, but right now, I give it a try.

The reading for today is Isaiah 3:1-11. Again a harsh image is sketched of what happens if the people of Israel do not turn around and live according to ( Read more... )

It is late already. Sint Nicolas came today and brought us many presents and lovely, teasing and touching poems.

I have read Isaiah 2:1-9 today. In this passage are the famous sentences about the swords that will be turned into plowshares: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift ( Read more... )

                                                                                     

It is the Monday after Sunday the first of Advent. Today I have read Isaiah 16-30. These verses are a plea to the people of Israel to change their lifestyle: “Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; Cease to do evil. Learn to do well. Seek justice, ( Read more... )

Today is the start of the period of Advent. I try to read passages from the old Roman Breviary during this period. It is a prayer book for each day, a very old one, from the Middle Ages. It consists of rituals, prayers of course and passages from the Bible. There are several volumes. I use the Winter volume which starts at Advent. It reads Isaiah ( Read more... )