Starting on December 17, for centuries the Church had what were called O Antiphons with corresponding Bible readings which ran through Christmas Eve, spanning eight days.
My longtime readers will recognise these, as I have been running them since 2013. Each day has a different O Antiphon for our consideration and meditation.
The Advent hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel has verses which relate to the O Antiphons, as you will see below.
The O Antiphons spell out SARCORE. These are an aide memoire, because, reversed, they spell out in Latin ero cras, which means:
I shall be [with you] tomorrow.
The Bible verses behind SARCORE — ero cras — are as follows (emphases mine):
- “O Sapientia, quae ex ore altissimi…” (O Wisdom from on high…)
- “O Adonai et dux domus Israel…” (O Lord and leader of the house of Israel…)
- “O Radix Jesse qui stas in signum populorum…” (O Root of Jesse who stood as a standard of the people…)
- “O Clavis David et sceptrum domus…” (O Key of David and scepter of our home…)
- “O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae…” (O Dayspring, splendor of eternal light…)
- “O Rex gentium et desideratus…” (O longed-for King of the nations…)
- “O Emmanuel, rex et legifer noster…” (O Emmanuel, our king and law-giver…)
What follows are the O Antiphon readings for the next eight days.
December 17
The O Antiphon for December 17 (2013)
The O Antiphon for December 17 (2014)
December 18
The O Antiphon for December 18 (2013)
December 18: a second O Antiphon for this day (2014)
December 19
The O Antiphon for December 19 (2013)
December 19: a second O Antiphon for this day (2014)
December 20
The O Antiphon for December 20
December 21
The theme for this day, Winter Solstice, is light:
The O Antiphon for December 21
Some traditionalists omit December 21 because it is St Thomas’s feast day:
Doubting Thomas — John 20:19-31
Doubting Thomas: When seeing is believing
There is no reason one cannot combine the two!
December 22
The O Antiphon for December 22 (2013)
December 22: another O Antiphon for this day (2014)
December 23
The O Antiphon for December 23 (2013)
December 23: another O Antiphon for this day (2014)
December 24
Christmas Eve affords us time to examine the Nativity story, either through Jesus’s lineage (Matthew) or through His birth (Luke):
Christmas Eve — Matthew 1:18-25 (with commentary from Albert Barnes)
The Christmas story in Matthew’s Gospel (hermeneutics)
The Christmas story according to St Luke
The Christmas story in Luke’s Gospel (hermeneutics)
I have found that these readings enhance the anticipation of Christmas Day and the significance of our Saviour humbling Himself to be among us.
I hope that you find comfort and inspiration from these as well.
This post first appeared on Churchmouse Campanologist | Ringing The Bells For, please read the originial post: here
