O Come, O Come Emmanuel

It is almost time for the O Antiphons! This year I am looking forward to December 17 more than ever! What are the O Antiphons? Growing up in a non-liturgical church I had never heard of them myself. I have come to treasure these beautiful strains of expectancy that have been echoing throughout the ages. Ever since the sin entered the world, we have been in need of a savior, a deliverer. I don't know about you but the concept of sin is never something I have grappled with. I have had my bouts of doubt when it comes to faith but never about the reality of sin. I know I'm a sinner. I see that staring me straight in the eyes every single day.   Every. Single. Hour. Especially now that I have a husband and four kids. Ha! Nothing like family to show us what miserable sinners we are, right?  I see a world that seems very dark at times and I KNOW that I am not the only poor, miserable sinner. We all are sinners and our misery cries out for a savior. Emmanuel. God with us.

So you see, ALL of history has been a season of "advent." The dictionary defines "advent" this way:  "the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event."  All of history has been awaiting that "notable person" to rescue us from this darkness that sin has plunged us all into. The prophet Isaiah foretold the advent, the coming, of the Messiah. The expected one. He was told what the Savior would be like and recorded these prophecies for all of time. What the O Antiphons do is that they echo the words of the prophet Isaiah during the evening prayers leading up to Christmas. Jesus is called by seven messianic titles; titles all mentioned by the prophet Isaiah. If you reflect on the meaning of each of these titles you come to see that the attributes of each name or title of Jesus, our Savior, are attributes or qualities that our world so desperately needs. Jesus fulfills each of these needs.

Starting on December 17 we cry out “Come!”  We plead "come!" in seven different ways until Christmas Eve. But He has come, right? Yes, He has come. He was born in that stable over 2,000 years ago. That is why we rejoice on Christmas Day. BUT we cry out “come!” because we ache for that second advent of our Savior. We prepare ourselves and await when He will come again.

Well, this stolen reflective moment must end soon.  Kindergarten timeline here:

-Garden of Eden: sins enters the world

-Salvation history plays out . . . . no time to go over here.

-Isaiah prophecies concerning the Messiah

-O Antiphons (based on Isaiah’s prophecies) are written by . . . .? We’re not sure but at some point they become a common part of liturgical worship.

-Philosopher Boethius mentions the use of the O Antiphons in his writings. (5^th century)

-Latin hymn “O Veni, O Veni Emmanuel” is widely used. This hymn summarizes the O Antiphons.

-English translation of the Latin hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

-A favorite Christmas carol today. . . .  

Our family has been focusing on the O Antiphons this Advent season in preparation for December 17^th. We are taking a break with our regular Latin text. I have printed off a small binder for myself and folders for the boys for this task. We all have copies of the antiphons in English and Latin. We read the antiphons in English and compare line by line the Latin and English translation. It has been enjoyable to decipher the Latin words and learn new vocabulary. We read through the prophetic passages in Isaiah along with other passages throughout the Bible. We really cannot read them all but we sample a few each day. We read through each line of the antiphon and discuss their meanings. After we do this we find the antiphons chanted on youtube. We play the antiphons in Latin and do our best to follow along. Sometimes we even try to sing along ourselves. For handwriting practice, the boys copy the corresponding verse from “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Tomorrow will finish copying the last verse and bind it into a little hymnbook. Starting on December 17 we will listen to the antiphons and also sing the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” The boys will use their little homemade hymnal to follow along.

Over the years I have seen ladies make these “antiphon houses” using items they find at Target or craft stores.  This autumn I was blessed to stumble upon a decorative mini “house” at our thrift store for $2.50. It was much, much smaller than the ones I had seen online, so I wasn’t sure if I could make it work. It did! It all came together! Divine providence, I do believe.

I think this little house was a display for knick-knacks at some point. I had Doug take out this little pin cushion looking thing that was attached to it. As you can see, I painted it purple, the liturgical color. Purple reflects a more somber, penitential season.  The little figurines were at Hobby Lobby in the Christmas ornament section. They are with all the tiny ornaments meant for the mini-Christmas trees. I’ll show you the rest of the project this and next week.

Anyhow, I find this all fascinating and invigorating for my faith. I plan to share our procession through the O Antiphons each day. I hope you might enjoy it as well.