THE JEWELS OF ADVENT: The Great O Antiphons

 

Advent is the most beautiful of liturgical seasons.  It is a time of watching and preparing, of hopeful expectation and joyful anticipation.  Advent is the season where we ponder the comings of Christ. The Mass readings of Advent begin with the Second Coming of Christ to earth, the Parousia. The word Parousia means ‘to be present.’  Isn’t that what Advent is about?  To be present to the mystery of God: past, present and future. We remember with our ancestors of the past their longing for the coming of the Messiah. We rejoice and celebrate Jesus’ incarnation, his coming in the flesh 2000 years ago.  In the present, we recognize Jesus, our Messiah, in our midst in the here and now, where he is gracing us in every facet of our lives as we look to our reward at his ‘Second Coming.’

 

Some of you may be scratching your head and saying, ‘The Great what?’ You know at least one of them by heart, ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel… ’   It is probably the most beloved of all Advent hymns.   In the monastery, as a final preparation for Christmas, we sing these ‘Jewels of Advent,’ the last 7 nights before Christmas Eve just before the Magnificat beginning December 17 until December 23.   It is also sung during those days at daily Mass with the Gospel Alleluia.

 

Whoever put together all the Latin Antiphons was having a good time because if you take the first letter of each invocation, then read it backwards; it forms an acrostic in Latin:  ERO CRAS.  This can be understood as Christ response to his people's plea, “Tomorrow I will come."

 

You may say, ‘Wait a minute.  Christmas begins with the Vigil on the 24^th.  Why end on the 23^rd ?’   True enough. Thanks to the tradition handed down to us by our Jewish ancestors in faith, we begin the liturgical day at sundown. So, the evening of the 23^rd is Christmas Eve, and as a result, therefore, the Christmas liturgy begins at Evening Prayer on the 24^th.   I know it sounds confusing but that is the way it is.

 

To add to the mix, an optional alternative English medieval practice came of adding a day and antiphon to involve Mary to the end on the 24^rd.   They took the ‘V’ from O Virgo and added it to the acrostic so it became Vero Cras, "Truly, tomorrow."

 

Let us celebrate this Advent and Christmas as we await that great day when JESUS’ COMES!