O Virgene

8th Antiphon 24 December O Virgene

O Virgin of Virgins, how shall this be?
For before you was none like you, nor shall there be after:
Daughters of Jerusalem, why do you marvel at me?
That which you behold is a divine mystery.

This eighth antiphon was provided by a Franciscan friend who says her house use it happily. It seems to me appropriate to remember the Theotokos in this way.

These antiphons came from Kenneth Leech via the Magdalen House of the Rivendell Community

O Emmanuel

7th Antiphon O Emmanuel 23 December

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
the Hope of all peoples and their Salvation:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

“Emm-anu-el” is Hebrew for “with-us-God,” and can be
translated, “God is with us,” or simply, “God with us.” Matthew (1:23), quoting Isaiah (7:14), proclaims Jesus as the promised Deliverer, and as God with us, God in our midst, the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. Thanks be to God.

O Rex gentium

6th Antiphon O Rex gentium 22 December

O King of the nations, and their Desire,
the cornerstone making us both one:
Come and save the creature whom you have formed from
clay.

God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19 and Colossians 1:20), and breaking down the ancient hostility between Jew and Gentile, between one nation and another, between one person and another, making of us one building with himself as the cornerstone, one body with himself as the head.

O Oriens

5th Antiphon O Oriens 21 December

O Dayspring, Brightness of the Light Eternal
and Sun of Righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness
and the shadow of death.

In the last chapter of the Hebrew Scriptures is the prophecy of the Day when the Lord shall be revealed, a consuming fire to those who reject him, but to his own people a Sun whose rays bring light and healing and wholeness. Echoing it are the words of the father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:78-79), the last Messianic prophecy, the last inspired utterance before the birth of Christ.

O Clavis David

4th Antiphon O Clavis David 20 December

O Key of David and Sceptre of the house of Israel,
you open and none can shut,
you shut and none can open:
Come and bring the captives out of the prison house:
those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

The reference is to Isaiah 22:22 and Revelation 3:7. Though the earthly fortunes of the dynasty of David and of the Jewish people may rise or fall, God is the Lord of history, and nothing can prevent the fulfilment of his purposes.

O Adonai

2nd Antiphon O Adonai 18 December
O Adonai, and Leader of the house of Israel,
you revealed yourself in the bush to Moses in a flame of fire,
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

“Adonai” is the Hebrew word for “Lord,” and is traditionally used in place of the Great Name of God, revealed to Moses out of the burning bush. Christ is the Lord who delivered the Israelites out of bondage (Exodus 3) and made them a people for himself.

O Radix Jesse

3rd Antiphon O Radix Jesse 19 December

O Root of Jesse, you stand as a sign to the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths
and nations bow in worship:
Come and deliver us, and tarry not.

Jesse is the father of David the King. God took David from his father’s house, and made him King of Israel, and made the kingship of David an earthly symbol of the Kingdom of Christ. The antiphon refers to Isaiah 11:1,12 and 52:13-53:12.

O Sapientia

1st Antiphon O Sapientia 17 December

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

Christ is the Word and Wisdom of God (John 1:1, associated by early Christian commentators with Proverbs 8:1, 22-31), existing with the Father and the Spirit from all eternity, through whom all things were made.