Margaret Felice

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Media
  • Calendar
    • Upcoming Performances
    • Upcoming Speaking Events
  • Speaking
  • Publications
  • Performance
    • Biography
    • Repertoire
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

O Rex Gentium

December 22, 2012 · Filed Under: gender, liturgical calendar, prayer ·

22 Dec O Rex gentium

 
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis,
qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.

O King whom all the peoples
desire, you are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come and
save man whom you made from clay.

King of the nations…that’s a tough one for one of my ilk, who has been well trained to pare masculine imagery from our religious vocabulary. I speak of the Reign of God rather than the Kingdom, I maneuver my language to be pronoun-less whenever possible.

I don’t apologize for this. There is no heresy in not surrendering to the limits of our language. I’m not one who believes the Catholic Church is extraordinarily sexist – rather, I recognize that it developed during and exists in a sexist time. In many ways it was progressive – in what other environment could women like Hildegard von Bingen accomplish what she did in the Middle Ages?

But God is not a man, so I make my little efforts to put a dent in that accepted image. I try not to do that in ways that do violence to language, and never in ways that do violence to theology. Christ, born a man among humans, is our King. Tonight’s O Antiphon blurs the line between persons of the Trinity, and I’ll go with it, trusting that those who pray with me tonight want what’s best for me and for all women, and that God desires our ongoing liberation.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • More
  • Print
  • LinkedIn
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Related

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More about Margaret

Subscribe to Blog

Sign up to get my posts delivered to your inbox.
How often would you like to receive updates?

Recent Posts

  • 2020: My year in words
  • When we know what’s coming
  • One note at a time
  • The Pain of Repair
  • Deep Breaths

Topics I’ve Written About:

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
  • Home
  • About
  • Biography
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Media
  • Performance
  • Publications
  • Repertoire
  • Speaking

Search

© 2021 Margaret Felice · Headshots by Earl Christie · Website by Little Leaf Design

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.