Advent Calendar: Roman Gate 8

Gates, lift high your heads,

raise high the ancient gateways,

and the king of glory shall enter.

Psalm 24: 7 (New Jerusalem Bible)

Garden Gate on the Salita di Sant' Onofrio

The little street of San Onofrio, actually a stairway, leads from the 15th century Church of Sant' Onofrio to the Tiber River, going down the side of the Janiculum Hill. The church is the Roman headquarters for the Franciscan Friars of Atonement, a religious community with social, ecumenical and pastoral ministries. The order began as an Anglican community in 1898 and converted to Roman Catholicism in 1909, a year after they initiated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which is still observed in many denominations around the world during January.

Introit: Advent Two

Father in heaven,
the day draws near when the glory of your Son
will make radiant the night of the waiting world.
May the lure of greed not impede us from the joy
which moves the hearts of those who seek him.
May the darkness not blind us
to the vision of wisdom
which fills the minds of those who find him.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

From the Companion Missal