Today is the third Sunday of Advent. It happens to fall on December 17th this year. You’ll see in a few minutes why the date matters to today’s subject.
You may have heard of the O Antiphons. That short phrase refers to a short statement sung, or said, before and after Mary’s Magnificat in Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. Before I say more about the significance of the O Antiphons, let me define some terms for you in case you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about.
The Liturgy of the Hours (LoH) refers to the daily prayer of the Catholic Church. It is a system of five prayers, based largely on the psalms as well as other Scripture and readings from the history of the Church. Bishops, Priests, Deacons and men and women religious (nuns, sisters, brothers, etc) are required to pray these prayers across the day. Depending on the exact role of the person they may have to pray some or all of the Hours each day. Lay people are encouraged to participate to the extent they can and want to.
The five hours are known, in English, as morning prayer, midday prayer, evening prayer, night prayer, and the office of readings (my favorite). https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgy-of-the-hours
There is a cycle of readings and psalms that rotate through the LoH schedule through the various liturgical seasons. Some items are fixed and always prayed. That’s the case with the Canticle of Zechariah (Lk 68-79) in morning prayer and the Canticle of Mary (Lk 46-55), and, of course, the Our Father in all the Hours.
Within the context of the LoH antiphons are short bits of Scripture or religious thought before and after a larger psalm or other Scriptural selection. The LoH utilizes antiphons extensively.
So, the O Antiphons are seven names for Christ from Scripture that surround the Gospel Canticle (Mary’s Magnificat) in evening prayer starting the evening of December 17th (tonight) and running through December 23rd as we prepare to celebrate that great gift God gave us because He loves us so much. Here is some information from USCCB on the O Antiphons: https://www.usccb.org/prayers/o-antiphons-advent
The O Antiphons are (in date order):
O Sapientia (O Wisdom) Isaiah 11:2–3; 28:29
O Adonai (O Lord) Isaiah 11:4–5; 33:22
O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse) Isaiah 1:1; 11:10
O Clavis David (O Key of David) Isaiah 9:6; 22:22
O Oriens (O Rising Sun) Isaiah 9:1
O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations) Isaiah 9:5; 2:4
O Emmanuel (God with us) Isaiah 7:14
You might wonder about the relationship between the great Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and the O Antiphons. The O Antiphons date back to the 8th century and the hymn to the 18th century. The hymn just turns the O Antiphons into song with a beautiful melody. My nephew’s wife and two of their daughters attended the Lauren Daigle concert in Greenville, SC Saturday night so here is Lauren’s version of the hymn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGw0QK6ICZA
There’s also a great episode of Hark! from America Media that gives the story on this best known Advent hymn. https://www.americamagazine.org/hark-podcast You may have to click the on screen button to show more in the list of carols on the page since O Come, O Come Emmanuel was the second episode of the first year they did this show.
OK. If you’d like to check out the LoH yourself and maybe pray these seven days of the O Antiphons I suggest you download the iBreviary app for your phone from wherever you get apps from for your phone type. The app is free though they give you the chance to make a donation if you want to. Once you download it you’re good to go. The app will get the date from your phone’s system and automatically download that day’s prayers and readings for the LoH as well as that day’s Mass. Just tap the pray button then tap on Liturgy of the Hours, then tap Evening Prayer. Read along in a prayerful way. Feel free to skip the hymn though I usually read it as I would a poem.
When you get to the intercessions have a list ready of your intentions to add to the ones on the screen. If you decide to do this let me know how it goes. If you have questions feel free to contact me, or any priest or deacon you have ready access to. I think our ordained friends are very happy when laypeople join them in praying the Hours and are happy to answer questions or assist you as you might need.
One last thing. This past Wednesday was the feast day of St. Lucy. There’s a famous song called Santa Lucia for her. You can find lots of versions of it on YouTube. There’s one by Andrea Bocelli, one by Elvis, and so on. But as someone who grew up watching the Andy Griffith show I always think of this one on St. Lucy’s feast day. I wish I could link to the whole show but I can’t so here’s the great Jim Nabors singing while changing a tire. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxRDyDD0kpc&t=4s
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week as we get ready for Christmas.
Peace, Bob
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