The Great O Antiphons of Advent

The following coms from the Dominican Sisters:

During the last days of Advent, the anticipation of the arrival of our Newborn Savior heightens, and one of the ways this is expressed in the Liturgy is through the "Great O Antiphons." The "O Antiphons" accompany the Magnificat of Vespers (Evening Prayer), and are also paraphrased in the Alleluia verse for each daily Mass.

Each antiphon invokes Jesus using one of the titles of the Messiah and together the antiphons form the verses of the Advent hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."

The titles are arranged in such a way that by taking the first letter of each title in Latin and going in reverse order (Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia) the words "ero cras" are formed. This phrase is Latin for "I am coming tomorrow."

Check back here each day from December 17-23 for the "O Antiphon" of the day, along with a brief reflection.

Hat tip to the Anchoress on this site and video!