One of the most familiar hymns of Advent, sung by Christians of every tradition, is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. However, those outside the Catholic tradition may not realize that the text of this hymn is rooted in an ancient liturgical observance known as the “O Antiphons.”
An “antiphon,” as St. John Henry Newman explained it, is a “verse that gives emphasis to what follows, such as a prayer, psalm, Scripture or canticle.”
The “O Antiphons” are sung in the days leading up to Christmas (beginning on December 17 and ending December 23) during evening prayer in the Catholic Church’s Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office), before and after the Magnificat, in a tradition that dates back as early as the 8th century!
Each of these verses refers to a Messianic title for Christ, using biblical imagery drawn from the Old Testament to recall the whole of salvation history and anticipate the birth of Christ. They express the longing we feel for the coming of the Messiah—at Christmas, anew in our hearts, and at the end of time.
The Messianic titles, in Latin and English, are:
December 17—O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
December 18—O Adonai (O Lord)
December 19—O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
December 20—O Clavis David (O Key of David)
December 21—O Oriens (O Light from the East)
December 22—O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
December 23—O Emmanuel (O God With Us)
You may recognize in the verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel the variations on these antiphons; for instance, the verse which begins “O come Thou Dayspring” is a reference to O Oriens, and the verse which begins “O come, Desire of Nations” refers to O Rex Gentium.
There is even a hidden message in the first letters of each antiphon—beginning with “E” for “Emmanuel” and working backwards, the first letter of each antiphon can be assembled to spell the phrase ero cras, which is Latin for “tomorrow, I come,” a reference to the fact that the next day is Christmas Eve.
So the next time you find yourself singing this beloved hymn, know that you are joining in prayer with those who have sung these verses for centuries as a rich part of Catholic tradition and liturgy.
