Confessing Evangelical

O admirable exchange,
the Creator of the human race,
taking upon himself a body and a soul,
has vouchsafed to be born of a Virgin,
and, appearing here below as man,
has made us partakers of his Divinity.

For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

- 2 Corinthians 8:9

Labels: christmas, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

The seven "O"s, in reverse order (as can be seen from my previous posts here), make up the words ERO CRAS:

• O Emmanuel


• O Rex Gentium


• O Oriens


• O Clavis David


• O Radix Jesse


• O Adonai


• O Sapientia

"Ero cras" loosely translates as "I shall be there tomorrow" - highly appropriate for the whole season of Advent, and especially so for Christmas Eve.

Labels: advent, christmas, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

cf. Isaiah 7:14

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: advent, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.

- cf. Isaiah 28.16; Ephesians 2.14

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: advent, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.

- cf. Malachi 4.2

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: advent, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

- cf. Isaiah 22.22, 42.7

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: advent, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

- cf. Isaiah 11.10, 45.14, 52.15; Romans 15.12

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: advent, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

- cf. Exodus 3.2, 24.12

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times did'st give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: advent, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.

- cf. Ecclesiasticus 24.3; Wisdom 8.1.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Labels: advent, o-antiphons, turvey abbey

As an Advent special, I'm planning to do brief posts for each of the "O" antiphons between 17 and 23 December (traditionally used as the antiphon for the Magnificat at evening prayer). Each post will consist of the text for the antiphon from Common Worship: Daily Prayer, and the corresponding verse from J.M. Neale's hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (MIDI warning). Enjoy!

(And yes, I realise I'm a day late starting this. So you get two days for the price of one today.) ("Tsk! It takes us by surprise every year, doesn't it?")

Labels: advent, o-antiphons