The 'O' Antiphons; "Adonai". Kenya. Malawi.

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O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power.

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Catholic Online emphasizes the increasing urgency of the Antiphons with each successive day. We can certainly see this here; where just yesterday we entreated wisdom to "teach us the way of truth," we are today imploring Adonai to "save us."

Directly translated, Adonai is "lord of mine" or "my lord." It was substituted in scriptural texts for YHWH, the unspoken name of God. Use of the word in the Antiphon references the original writing of the Torah.

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I'm having a day of deep frustration with the leadership of the Catholic church...

The Pope has released a statement condemning the progression of abortion legislation in Kenya and Malawi. The legislation in these 70-80% majority Christian nations is in response to the AIDS crisis, which is now a problem of almost incomprehensible proportions.

Pope John Paul invokes colonialism in his statement, then advises that "sexual fidelity within marriage and abstinence without" is the only "foundation" of a remedy.

Meanwhile, UN Peacekeepers in the Congo are raping women, 7% of the adult population is HIV+, and 1 in 16 African women dies during pregnancy or childbirth.

It makes me sick. Not sick with anger. Nausious. I'm cynical with both sides of the abortion issue in America, but Kenya's so ragged and bleeding, in this and so many other ways, that I can't imagine passing down such dry and drained morality from the comfortable square miles of the Vatican.

I wish his entire article had been replaced with the Antiphon above.

Adonai... "come and save us with your mighty power."

My, my my...

What else could possibly save us when the Christian authority on Earth is content to slap some wrists, shed a couple tears, and boost the Kenyan charity a sliver?

And then again (and this is the part that exempts my anger), what could possibly make a difference, what could possibly "save" this time, except a mighty power?

~ Connor