O Antiphons

Today we begin using the O Antiphons, one on each day between now and Christmas.  The popular Advent hymn, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is based on the O Antiphons and can be made to fit the days beginning with verse 2 and saving verse 1 for the last day.

The “O Antiphons” of the Roman Catholic liturgy are short verses sung before the Magnificat for Evening Prayer of the seven days preceding the vigil of Christmas.  Called the “O Antiphons” because each begins with the interjection “O”, their opening words are: O Sapientia, O Adonai, O Radix Jesse, O Clavis David, O Oriens, O Rex Gentium, O Emmanuel.  Each is addressed to Christ under one of his Scriptural titles and each concludes with a petition to the coming Lord.  An interesting acrostic occurs when the first letter of each invocation is taken in reverse order: ERO CRAS.  The phrase spells out the response of Christ to the heartfelt prayer of his people:  “Tomorrow I will be there.”