O Antiphons - The Mystery Behind Them
In this expectant and austere season of Advent, it is well to uncover and understand the various connections and deep secrets within the liturgy that Holy Mother Church has so wisely put at our disposal. One that I find particularily fascinating is the O Antiphons. That the order and significance should be so perfect...so precise..
In the whole week preceding Christmas, Dec. 17-23, there is a different antiphon recited each day at Vespers. This is how they run, in English:
O Wisdom...
O Lord and Leader...
O Root of Jesse...
O Key of David...
O Dawn of the East...
O King of Nations...
O Emmanuel (God with Us)...
However, it's with the Latin that the secret is revealed:
O Sapientia...
O Adonai...
O Radix Jesse...
O Clavis David...
O Oriens...
O Rex Gentium...
O Emmanuel...
Taking the first non-O letter, going backwards, one is left with EROCRAS. Ero is the future-tense verb "I am", and Cras literally means "tomorrow". Only Christ in His infinite wisdom could construct something so simple but so meaningful, to be seen only by those who look.... "I am tomorrow".
Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis.
In the whole week preceding Christmas, Dec. 17-23, there is a different antiphon recited each day at Vespers. This is how they run, in English:
O Wisdom...
O Lord and Leader...
O Root of Jesse...
O Key of David...
O Dawn of the East...
O King of Nations...
O Emmanuel (God with Us)...
However, it's with the Latin that the secret is revealed:
O Sapientia...
O Adonai...
O Radix Jesse...
O Clavis David...
O Oriens...
O Rex Gentium...
O Emmanuel...
Taking the first non-O letter, going backwards, one is left with EROCRAS. Ero is the future-tense verb "I am", and Cras literally means "tomorrow". Only Christ in His infinite wisdom could construct something so simple but so meaningful, to be seen only by those who look.... "I am tomorrow".
Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis.
posted by Sara Jane III at 9:47 PM
1 Comments:
This is another good post, Sara. The Church has so many of such hidden things in her liturgy!
One thing that Father said about the "O" Antiphons in our Liturgy class is that one reason that can be given for the fact that it's SARCORE and not EROCRAS (iow, the reason it's backwards) - it could be said that it is from God's point of view, looking from the Nativity back to the beginning of time.
~Monnie
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