O Key of David,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!
Prison.
That is a very frightening word. It is an even more frightening reality.
Prisons are places of fear, of dread, of hatred, and of hopelessness. Do not let anyone fool you otherwise. Many states will even admit that the word “rehabilitate” might be in the dictionary but is not operative in most prison systems. Instead of rehabilitate, the operative word is “punish”.
Prisons can be physical realities, such as the prisons that are in every state and, often, quite close to us.
Prisons can also be metaphysical realities.
Some people are imprisoned in fear and dread, in hatred and hopelessness, but are not locked up physically. Their prison is internal.
God holds the keys to the prisons in which we find ourselves. He can set us free from the prison of fear and hopelessness. He can set us free from the prison of doom and gloom. He can set us free from the prison of death.
Think about it. Death has no power over God and death can have no power over us if we cling to the Lord.
Today’s “O Antiphon” is O Key of David. Jesus is that key. He is the one who can release us from the prison of our minds and souls as well as from the prison of death. He can do it and will do it if we ask.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!
FAITH ACTION: In quiet prayer, ask the Lord to reveal to you the ways in which you might imprison yourself. Then, ask Him to set you free from all of that so that you may follow Him more faithfully.