"O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care. Come and show your people the way to salvation."
The “Seven Marian Antiphons” are
a setting of the “O Antiphons” of the Roman Catholic liturgy which 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.” In
the ninth century, the antiphons were reworked into the familiar hymn: Veni,
Veni, Emmanuel (O Come, O Come Emmanuel)
The Divine Office (Liturgy of
the Hours) is a collection of prayer services which take place at various times
throughout the day. The idea is the
sanctification of all time. Clerics in
the Catholic Church make a promise to pray the hours at the time of their
ordination.
Prior to the reforms of the
Second Vatican Council the Divine Office had a primarily monastic form. The various hours of the day (e.g., Lauds, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, etc.)
were solemnized by the chanting of psalms, the proclamation of Scripture, and
the chanting of various Scriptural canticles.
Prayers for the needs of the Church and the world are included in some
of the Hours.
In the Vatican II reforms, the
Office was simplified for use by the diocesan clergy. However, the structure was maintained:
Invitatory, Hymn, Psalmody, Scripture, Responsory, Magnificat with its
antiphon, Intercessions, The Lord’s Prayer and Concluding Prayer and
Blessing. Night Prayer also includes a
concluding Marian Hymn (e.g., Salve Regina, Regina Coeli, Ave Maria).
The last several years have seen
an increase in communal celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours, especially
Morning and Evening Prayer. Many
parishes offer Vespers to celebrate special occasions. (In Winona, we celebrate Morning Prayer on
the three days of the Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy
Saturday) on which Masses other than those prescribed for the Triduum are
forbidden). Parish vespers often follow
a more ceremonial form of the Office which is rooted in the Cathedral Vespers
of ancient times. This often includes an
opening light ceremony (Lucenarium) and thanksgiving for the light and the use
of incense and more formal vestments.
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