What are the “O Antiphons”?

Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC) ^ | 2000 | William Saunders

[Salvation]

What Are the ’O Antiphons’?   FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS

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Question: What are the “O Antiphons”?

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The “O Antiphons” refer to the seven antiphons that are recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. They cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas, Dec. 17-23, with Dec. 24 being Christmas Eve and Vespers for that evening being for the Christmas Vigil.

The exact origin of the “O Antiphons” is not known. Boethius (c. 480-524) made a slight reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence at that time. At the Benedictine abbey of Fleury (now Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire), these antiphons were recited by the abbot and other abbey leaders in descending rank, and then a gift was given to each member of the community. By the eighth century, they are in use in the liturgical celebrations in Rome. The usage of the “O Antiphons” was so prevalent in monasteries that the phrases, “Keep your O” and “The Great O Antiphons” were common parlance. One may thereby conclude that in some fashion the “O Antiphons” have been part of our liturgical tradition since the very early Church.

The importance of “O Antiphons” is twofold: Each one highlights a title for the Messiah: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel. Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. Let’s now look at each antiphon with just a sample of Isaiah’s related prophecies :

O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).

O Adonai: “O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” (11:4-5); and “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic; yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king, he it is who will save us.” (33:22).

O Radix Jesse: “O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (11:1), and A On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (11:10). Remember also that Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:1).

O Clavis David: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.” Isaiah had prophesied, AI will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (22:22), and “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.” (9:6).

O Oriens: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.” (9:1).

O Rex Gentium: “O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.” Isaiah had prophesied, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (9:5), and “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (2:4) .

O Emmanuel: “O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”

(7:14). Remember “Emmanuel” means “God is with us.”

According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one - Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia - the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Saunders, Rev. William. “What are the ‘O Antiphons’?” Arlington Catholic Herald.

Reprinted with permission of the Arlington Catholic Herald.

THE AUTHOR

Father William Saunders is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria, Virginia. The above article is a “Straight Answers” column he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Father Saunders is also the author of Straight Answers, a book based on 100 of his columns and published by Cathedral Press in Baltimore.

Copyright © 2000 Arlington Catholic Herald

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Saunders, Rev. William. "{title1}." Arlington Catholic Herald.

This article is reprinted with permission from Arlington Catholic Herald.

THE AUTHOR

Father William Saunders is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria, Virginia. The above article is a "Straight Answers" column he wrote for the Arlington Catholic Herald. Father Saunders is also the author of Straight Answers, a book based on 100 of his columns and published by Cathedral Press in Baltimore.

[Salvation]

**I and my family shall use these in our evening prayers for the next seven nights.**

Way to go. May God bless all of you during the remainder of Advent.

[Salvation]

Wow! Did you scan that? Real music!!!

[Salvation]

LOL! I just pinged you because eastsider posted real music!!

[Salvation]

You are so welcome. Enjoy them during the last days of Advent.

[Salvation]

Thanks for the translation. They are beautiful prayers, aren't they?

[Salvation]

You are so welcome. God bless and have a blessed Christmas.

[maryz]

Thank you. A literal translation of "Cras ero" is not "Tomorrow I will come" but rather "Tomorrow I will be."

Echoes of the Hebrew "Y-hw-h" (lit. "I will be")? This form is the imperfect, i.e., not completed. Biblical Hebrew doesn't have an actual present tense, only perfect (corresponding roughly to past) and imperfect (corresponding roughly to future); what serves as a present tense in modern Hebrew is actually a participial form.

[maryz]

Beautiful! Thank you.

[ThomasMore]

I had no idea anything like this even existed.

There is so much beauty and richness in the Church. I wish they would bring back Gregorian Chant. It is the foundation of musical praise.

[eastsider]

Good morning! First, I found a site with the music, then I right clicked, copied the "Properties" (...gif), and pasted it as a picture:

< img src="PASTE URL HERE">

BTW, I don't know if you noticed, but the chant for each of the O Antiphons is the same; only the text changes.

Blessed Advent to all, and to all a good day : )

[pegleg]

I wish they would bring back Gregorian Chant. It is the foundation of musical praise.

Amen! I can think of no other music form that can stir the soul like the Gregorian Chant.

[ninenot]

There's a German composer (late 19th/early 20th century) who stated unequivocally that Chant was the foundation of Western music, period.

It has also been described as THE song of the Church and as a major part of the music of the spheres.

It has been described, by Ratzinger, as the 'enfleshment' of the Word, Christ.

THAT'S why Bugnini and Weakland the Vandal wanted to get rid of it. Ironic that now it's a cult-top-40 item in many music stores, and more appreciated by Prots at UCLA and elsewhere than in seminaries and convents.

[ninenot]

Ah, great. What was the site with the music???

Inquiring minds want to know.

[ninenot]

NEVER MIND my last post. Used your trick, r-clicked, found the URL source. Went to the home on the site, back to "life" tab, and also discovered that it's recorded in MIDI format so that one with the equipment can HEAR it too.

BTW, a friend of mine who ought to know is rather suspicious of quite a few of the Chicago Province Dominicans.

[TotusTuus]

I remember seeing a video of an older Dominican from that province in the early 90's warning young men discerning a vocation to the Priesthood to NOT go there for similar sentiments. I also heard an Eastern Province Dominican jokingly refer to the Southern Province Dominicans as establishing Wednesdays as "wear your Habit day - with or without earrings". The English and Eastern Province Dominicans seem orthodox. What is happening to the rest? I know the Western Province fairly well, and well, they come from Berkeley (okay, Oakland - close enough!). 'Nuff said.

[TotusTuus]

It has also been described as THE song of the Church and as a major part of the music of the spheres.

The documents of Vatican II have nice things to say about Gregorian Chant and Polyphony (sp?) music as well. Something about it being the heritage of the Church and all that.

Funny that those who seem to think that they expertly have the "pulse" of the "spirit of the Council" never acknowledge these statements.

[Desdemona]

Funny that those who seem to think that they expertly have the "pulse" of the "spirit of the Council" never acknowledge these statements.

And brook no argument either. Just TRY on Pentecost to get a music director other than ninenot to sing Veni Creator Spiritus in Latin. It's absolutely lovely. And "Pange Lingua" on Holy Thursday.

I feel so deprived.

[eastsider]

There's a German composer (late 19th/early 20th century) who stated unequivocally that Chant was the foundation of Western music, period.

Gregorian chant is indeed the foundation of Western music. It was imported to the Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne at the beginning of the 9th century as part of the acculturation of his kingdom. Eventually, other voices were added, and the rest is history.

[eastsider]

I remember seeing a video of an older Dominican from that province in the early 90's warning young men discerning a vocation to the Priesthood to NOT go there [Chicago Province Dominicans] for similar sentiments.

'And whatever you do, stay away from Zombie Island, laddie!"

[Salvation]

About the "Great O's"

On the evening of December 17 the final phase of preparation for Christmas begins with the first of the great "O Antiphons" of Advent. These prayers are seven jewels of liturgical song, one for each day until Christmas Eve. They seem to sum up all our Advent longing for the Savior.

The "O Antiphons" are intoned with special solemnity in monasteries at Vespers, before and after the Magnificat, Mary's prayer of praise and thanksgiving from the Gospel of Luke (2:42-55), which is sung every evening as the climax of this Hour of the Divine Office.

A vestige of the "Great Os" can be seen in verses of the familiar Advent hymn, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel".

Families interested in the liturgy have discovered these gems of liturgical poetry and use them in their evening prayers. An "O Antiphon House" -- similar to an Advent Calendar -- can be made, with seven windows, each concealing an appropriate symbol for the different "O Antiphons", and an eighth window hiding the Nativity scene. As with an Advent calendar, one window is opened each day.

The sublime meditation of the "Great Os" would be excellent for families with children who have outgrown the Jesse Tree or Advent calendar. In any case, they are beautiful additions to your family prayers in the days just before Christmas. And they form part of the classic Christmas Novena.

The "O Antiphons" appear below in English translation, with scriptural sources and suggested symbols.

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The "O Antiphons"

O WISDOM, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: Come, and teach us the way of prudence.
Sirach 24:2; Wisdom 8:1. Symbols: oil lamp, open book.

O LORD AND RULER of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come, and redeem us with outstretched arm.
Exodus 3:2, 20:1. Symbols: burning bush, stone tablets.

O ROOT OF JESSE, who stands for an ensign of the people, before whom kings shall keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: Come to deliver us, and tarry not.
Isaiah 11:1-3. Symbol: vine or plant with flower (especially a rose).

O KEY OF DAVID, and Scepter of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens: Come, and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Isaiah 22:22. Symbols: key; broken chains.

O DAWN OF THE EAST, brightness of the light eternal, and Sun of Justice: Come, and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Psalm 19:6-7. Symbol: rising sun.

O KING OF THE GENTILES and their desired One, the Cornerstone that makes both one: Come, and deliver man, whom You formed out of the dust of the earth.
Psalm 2:7-8, Ephesians 2:14-20. Symbols, Crown, scepter.

O EMMANUEL, God with us, our King and Lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Savior: Come to save us, O Lord our God.
Isaiah 7:14; 33:22. Symbols: tablets of stone, Chalice and Host.

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Adapted from Celebrating Advent and Christmas ­ A Sourcebook for Families