After each reading, the Thomas Aquinas College Choir, directed by Daniel Grimm (’76), filled the Chapel with sacred hymns and chant. The text of each piece echoed the theme of the lesson that preceded it. “O magnum mysterium et admirable sacramentum ut animalia viderunt Dominum natum jacentem in praesepio,” the choir sang after the final lesson, a passage from Luke’s account of Christ’s birth. “O great and wonderous sacrament, that animals might see the new-born Lord lying in a manger.”
At the conclusion of the final carol, the College’s head chaplain, Rev. Robert Marczewski, offered a reflection on Advent, focusing on the virtue of waiting in expectation of the Feast of the Nativity. “No one wants to wait,” he told his hearers. “In the technological world, waiting is considered incompetent, impractical, inconvenient. It is even seen as a waste. Yet waiting is a crucial part of our lives, especially our spiritual lives. God makes us wait. God wants us to wait!”
The congregation then knelt for the exposition of the Eucharist and spent some time in Adoration, contemplating the beauty and wisdom they had heard, before the service ended in a final burst of song.