Advent 2016
Happy Advent! During the last 7 days of Advent (just before Christmas), the ancient Christian church prayed special prayers. They are called the ‘O’ Antiphons, and they have been around since the 5th century. Each ‘O’ is a name for Jesus as we approach the time of his birth. You might recognize these names as the beginning of the verses of ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’. The titles are in Latin, but translate like this:
Dec 17 – O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
Dec 18 – O Adonai (O Lord and Ruler)
Dec 19 – O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
Dec 20 – O Clavis David (O Key of David)
Dec 21 – O Oriens (O Morning Star)
Dec 22 – O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
Dec 23 – O Emmanuel (O Emmanuel).
And… if you take the first letters of each of the Latin titles (which I bolded, above), starting with the last and ending with the first, we get a Latin word – ERO CRAS, which means… “Tomorrow, I will come!” How cool is that? Some say this was not done on purpose, but that it simply worked out that way. Which is even cooler! Through the names, the message is revealed!
During Advent, we are preparing for the birth of the King of Kings, the baby Jesus. With these prayers Jesus comes closer and closer to earth, as in the prayer for the first day (O Wisdom):
O wisdom, coming forth from the Most High, filling all creation and reigning to the ends of the earth; come and teach us the way of truth. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
And then we might sing the corresponding verse of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:
O come, thou wisdom from on high,
embracing all things far and nigh;
In strength and beauty come and stay;
Teach us your will and guide our way.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
What I hope and pray for all of you during this Advent season, is that you take time to prepare once more for the coming of Our Lord. Take some quiet time each day to say prayers, or sing your favorite Advent hymn. Christ comes once again to be with us, and that’s Good News!
Wishing you a peace-filled Advent and Joyful Christmas ….
In Christ, Pr. Rita