The O Antiphons

The “O Antiphons” refer to the seven antiphons that are recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. They cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas, Dec. 17-23. The importance of “O Antiphons” is twofold: Each one highlights a title for the Messiah. Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah.



O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).


O Adonai: “O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself 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.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” (11:4-5); and “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic; yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king, he it is who will save us.” (33:22).


O Radix Jesse: “O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (11:1), and A On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (11:10). Remember also that Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:1).


O Clavis David: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.” Isaiah had prophesied, AI will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (22:22), and “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.” (9:6).


O Oriens: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.” (9:1).


O Rex Gentium: “O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.” Isaiah had prophesied, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (9:5), and “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (2:4) .


O Emmanuel: God is with us “O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.


According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one - Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia - the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT :


Saunders, Rev. William. “What are the ‘O Antiphons’?” Arlington Catholic Herald.

A Pillow for Baby Jesus

Long ago in Poland… in ancient Krakow… there lived an old widow named Helena. On the morning of Christmas Eve she went to the Dominican Church to watch the priests put up the Christmas crèche. She saw Father Jacek put the beautiful statue in the manger and she noticed that the baby Jesus had no pillow. She told the priest that baby Jesus should have a pillow and that the hay was too scratchy… But Father Jacek said the monastery had no money for a pillow and that the Holy Family was very poor and that is most likely the way Mary placed the little baby Jesus. All Helena could say was “I don’t think so!”


When Helena went home all she could think about was baby Jesus lying on that scratchy and rough hay and the more she thought about it the more angry she became. “What does Father Jacek know about how a mother would prepare for a baby? She said to herself. “Of course Mary had a pillow for the baby Jesus!” She answered herself.

She decided that she had to make supper and got out the fixing to make home made kluski (noodles) with cabbage. But as she was rolling out the dough she became angrier and angrier that the poor baby Jesus had no pillow and her kluski got bigger and bigger until she realized that she wasn’t really making the delicate noodles she had planned. Then she had an idea! She would make little pillows from the dough and stuff them with cabbage! After she had done that she decided that maybe if she stuffed the pillows with blueberries they would be softer and have a wonderful fragrance of summer…. So she made some little pillows stuffed with blueberries! And then she thought …

if I stuffed the pillows with cheese they would be ever so soft! And so she stuffed some of her little pillows with cheese!

After she had boiled all her little pillows she took them to the Dominican church for baby Jesus. Father Jacek was praying at the crèche and when he was shown the little pillows he became very excited! He said to Helena “Oh thank you so much! Here it is Christmas Eve and the monks have nothing for supper… how kind of you to think of us!”


Well… what could Helena say… she gave the little pillows to Father Jacek … thankful that she could help the poor monks who had given all their own food to the poor but so sad that the Baby Jesus still had no pillow. She looked at the beautiful little statue and through her tears she was sure that she saw the baby Jesus smile and give her a little wink! And she knew that she had given the a baby Jesus a pillow after all… a soft and beautiful pillow… her heart filled with love and charity!

Nobody remembers little Helena today… even though she invented the little pillows that we call pierogi and that everyone has at their Christmas Eve dinner… but she doesn’t mind… Father Jacek on the other hand later became the famous St. Jacek, St. Hyacinth in English, one of the patron saints of Poland and interestingly enough… the patron saint of pierogi makers! (As if it were his idea!)

The moral to this story is that all of us are called to prepare the way for Jesus… not with a soft pillow but with a soft heart… to comfort those who are lonely or sad… to take the time for someone who just needs to talk… to have compassion and patience on those who just need our time… these are the presents that we can prepare for the Baby Jesus… Like Helena, our charity and kindness will make Him smile!