O Emmanuel ~ O God With Us Dec 23

O Emmanuel ~ O God with us

our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations and their Savior: come and save us, O Lord our God.

O Oriens ~ O Day Spring Dec 21

O Oriens ~ O Day Spring

Radiance of the Light eternal and Sun of Justice; Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

He is the Rising Dawn; He is the Radiance of the Light eternal; He is the Sun of Justice.

We ask Christ to enlighten us by His coming. Who are they who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death? Pagans and unbelievers, sinners and atheist. But also in us " the Faithful" there is still much darkness much of death's shadow. Open your soul and let the divine light shine in!

Abbot Guerager OSB The Liturgical Year Advent



O Clavis David ~ O Key of David Dec 20th

O Clavis David ~ O Key of David

O Key of David and Sceptre of the house of Israel: You open and no man closes; you close and no man opens. Come, and deliver him from the chains of prison who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Come and deliver us and use your Key to open our locked hearts for your love to enter; so that Jesus can penetrate into its innermost regions.

O Radix Jesse ~ O Root of Jesse Dec 19th

O Radix Jesse.... O Root of Jesse

You stand for an ensign of mankind; before You kings shall keep silence, and to You all nations shall have recourse. Come, save us, and do not delay.

    Christ is of the root of Jesse, both as a descendant of David and as occupant of the royal throne. The wording of the prophetic text, however, does not pass over our Savior's external lowliness and poverty.
   The bulk of the antiphon is doted to a description of the kingdom. The small twig becomes the unifying principle about which the nations will gather like soldiers and citizens about their flag. With yearning the peoples will assemble around Him, will turn and acknowledge Him as Ruler. The Messiah's glory will be so great that even kings will stand dumbstruck in wonder and awe.

Abbot Gueranger OSB The Liturgical Year Advent pgs 180-181

O Adonai ~ O God of the Covenant~ Dec 18th

O Adonai God of the covenant and ruler of the house of Israel, You appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and on Mt Sinai gave him Your Law: Come and with an outstretched arm redeem us!

The Second person of the Blessed Trinity had an active part in creation, as noted in yesterday's "O" antiphon. Now the liturgy , seeing Christ in the perspective of divinity, finds Him active in the Old Testament. Christ was the " Covenant of God" (Adonai) of the Chosen People.

Reflection: The deliverance from Egypt has always been regarded as a leading Old Testament type for Christ's work of redemption. Pharaoh is the infernal prince into whose bondage mankind had fallen through sin; Moses is the redeemer--Christ, who redeems. Of old God appeared in the thornbush, in the fullness of time He appeared on earth clothed in human flesh--even now we are at the point of celebrating that appearance with admiration and joy.

And today He wants to enter my soul, to be its Ruler and Lawgiver. " Come, follow Me," walk in My footsteps, He pleads. Christian life means following Christ. Christ wants to be my Law. Without law there is no kingdom of God. He wants to redeem me " with an outstretched arm," but can do so only on  condition that I unite my will to His. Listen, soul, to His directions.

Abbot Gueranger OSB  The Liturgical Year Advent pg 179-180

O Sapientia ~O Wisdom Dec 17th~

~O Wisdom ~

This is the first of the O Antiphons

(This is the Magnificat Antiphon from Vespers on the 17th of Dec.)

The Church enters today on the seven days which precede the Vigil of Christmas, and which are known in the liturgy under the name of the Greater Ferias. The ordinary of the Advent Office becomes more solemn; the antiphons of the psalms, both for Lauds and the Hours of the Day, are proper, and allude expressly to the great coming. Every day, at Vespers, is sung a solemn antiphon, consisting of a fervent prayer to the Messias, whom it addresses by one of the titles given Him in the sacred Scriptures.

In the Roman Church, there are seven of these antiphons, one for each of the greater ferias, They are commonly called the O's of Advent, because they all begin with that interjection.

Let us enter into the spirit of the Church; let us reflect on the great day which is coming; that thus we may take our share in these the last and most earnest solicitations of the Church imploring her Spouse to come, to which He at length yields.

Abbot Gueranger OSB The Liturgical Year Advent

Ero Cras

Our O Antiphons have taken us on a journey.  We have traveled a great deal with Isaiah these past days and now our O Antiphons have spelled out a message for us.  By taking the first letter from each of the Latin titles of the antiphons, we arrive at the words ero cras, which translated means "Tomorrow, I will come." 

This message brings both our Advent and our O Antiphons to their promised fulfillment:  the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. 

Admist the business of the day, try to take even a few moments to sit and quietly reflect on this great mystery:  God who created the world and all that it holds took on the flesh of our humanity in order to redeem us.  Yes, Christmas is an awesome time.  Not because of the tinsel and the presents, but because God became a tiny, helpless baby because He loved us so much!

O Emmanuel

O Antiphon text:

O Emmanuel,
God with us,
our King and lawgiver,
the expected of the nations
and their Savior:
come to save us,
O Lord our God.

 

Reflection:

O Emmanuel!

God with us!
Your birth gave rise to a new Kingdom
And a Law of love!
O long-desired,

And yearned for by your Chosen People,
Your birth changed all understanding
Of what it was they should be seeking.
You fulfilled all the prophecies of old
And brought all peoples together
to seek you anew.
Come, O Emmanuel!

And save us from ourselves!

 

Additional texts for reflection:

Isaiah 7:14

Matthew 1:23

1 Timothy 4:9

O Rex Gentium (O King of Nations)

O Antiphon text:

O King of the gentiles
and their desired One,
the cornerstone that makes both one:
come, and deliver man,
whom you formed out
of the dust of the earth.

Reflection:

O King of Nations,

Whom all desire
You were both a stumbling stone
and a cornerstone
to those whom you encountered.
When man had sinned
And turned from You,
You assumed what You were not,

Yet your divinity retained,
So that sinful Adam
May once again
Undivided communion with You attain.
Come, O King of Nations,

And deliver the man
You made.

Additional texts for reflection:

Isaiah 2:4; 11:10; 28:16 

Psalm 47:8;

Psalm 118:22

Jeremiah 10:7

Daniel 7:14;

Haggai 2:8

Matthew 21:42

Mark 12:10

Luke 20:17

Acts 4:11

Romans 15:12

Ephesians 2:14, 20

O Oriens (O Dayspring)

O Antiphon text:

O Dayspring,
Brightness of the everlasting light,
Sun of justice,
come to give light to them
that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death.

Reflection:

O Dawn of Eternal Day,

Who most desire
To drive darkness and sin away.
In Thy radiance,
of Lord of Light,

Give to your people your gift of sight.
By Your wondrous birth may we,
evermore be made like unto Thee.
Come, O Dawn of Eternal Day,

and shine on all
in darkness and in death's dread thrall.

Additional texts for reflection:

Isaiah 9:1; 58:8; 60:18-20

Malachi 4:2

Luke 1:78-79

John 8:12

Revelation 22:16

O Clavis David (O Key of David)

O Antiphon text:

O Key of David,

and scepter of the house of Israel,

who opens and no man shuts,

who shuts and no man opens:

come, and lead forth the captive

who sits in the shadows from his prison.

Reflection:

O Key of David,

Who through your gift of the priesthood
Reigns today and is the only key.

In the gift of your priesthood,
We experience your mercy and forgiveness.
As we celebrate the wondrous Sacrament of Reconciliation.
We know that it is You who opens and no man may shut
And who shuts that no man may open:

Come, Lord,

And loosen the shackles,
With which we bind ourselves
And lead us through
Your open door.

Additional texts for reflection:

Isaiah 3:7
Jeremiah 13:13, 51:19
Matthew 4:15; 16:19
Luke 1:79

Revelation 3:7

O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)

O Antiphon text:

O Root of Jesse,

that stands for an ensign of the people,

before whom the kings keep silence

and unto whom the Gentiles

shall make supplication:

come, to deliver us,

and tarry not.

Reflection:

O Root of Jesse,

A small beginning,

And yet the anchor of a mighty tree!

From such a tiny beginning,

You reigned majestically from the Cross!

Whom the Magi worshiped

Simply bowing low and presenting their gifts

And from whom today

Many nations and peoples

Find their joy and salvation

And present their needs and necessities.

Come, Lord,

and do not delay...

Additional texts for reflection:

Isaiah 11:1, 10

Romans 15:12

O Adonai (O Sacred Lord)

O Antiphon text:

O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel,

who showed yourselft to Moses in the burning bush,

who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain:

Come, stretch out your mighty hand

to set us free.

Reflection:

O Sacred Lord,

Who appeared as a flaming bush to Moses,

and as a flame we see symbolized

In your Sacred Heart

And in the Tongues of Fire.

You who gave Moses the Law,

And who gave us a New Law of Love,

to Love You and our neighbor equally.

Come, Sacred Lord,

And set us free,

Break the bonds of sin that bind us.

Additional texts for reflection:

Exodus 3:2

Isaiah 33:22; 63:11-12

Micah 6:4

Acts 7:30-31

O Sapientia (O Wisdom)

O Antiphon text:

O Wisdom,

who came from the mouth of the Most High,

reaching from end to end

and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: 

come, and teach us prudence.

Reflection:

O Wisdom,

Who took on human flesh

And was born in time,

Yet the ever timeless Word.

You, the sinless One,

Took our sins upon You,

And nailed them to your Cross.

Restoring humanity to its original image,

And making it once more

Sons and daughters of God.

Teach us to live

That we may reflect

Your Spirit

Shining forth from within our hearts.

Scripture texts for further reflection:

Wisdom 8:1,

Isaiah 11:2-3 and 28:29

Proverbs 8:1-36

John 1:1-5

The Golden Nights

Just as we have Holy Week that leads up to the great feast of the Resurrection, so in Advent we have what some have referred to as the golden nights, which creates an octave leading up to the feast of the Incarnation of our Lord.

During these days, which begin on December 17, the Magnificat antiphon at Vespers recalls titles given to Christ in the Book of of the Prophet Isaiah.  Those titles are: 

Sapientia
Adonai
Radix Jesse
Clavis David
Oriens
Rex Gentium
Emmanuel

Over the next days we will reflect on these titles of Christ to further ready our hearts for Christmas.  If you would like to do some extra research on these antiphons on your own, simply google "O Antiphons" or a website that we discovered that offers a lot of detail is http://fisheaters.com/customsadvent10.html.

The "O Antiphons" - O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel,

our King and Lawgiver,

the Desire of all nations

and their Savior:

come and save us,

O Lord our God.

The "O Antiphons" - O King of Nations

O King of Nations,

and their Desired, the Cornerstone

Who dost make both one:

come and save mankind

whom Thou didst form out of clay.



The "O Antiphons" - O Dayspring

O Dayspring,

brightness of eternal Light

and Sun of Justice:

come and enlighten them

that sit in darkness

and in the shadow of death.

The "O Antiphons" - O Key of David

O Key of David,

and Sceptre of the house of Israel,

Who dost open and no man shutteth,

Who dost shut and no man openeth;

come and lead forth from his prison

the captive sitting in darkness

and in the shadow of death.

The "O Antiphons" - O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse,

Who dost stand for an enseign of the people,

before Whom kings shall remain silent,

and unto Whom the Gentiles shall make supplication:

come to deliver us and delay not.