“O” - THAT YOU WOULD COME QUICKLY!

From December 17th onwards, the appearance of short passages beginning with “O” will infuse the Sacred Liturgy. What are they? There are seven of them altogether, each allocated to a day in the last week before Christmas.

They are all “ANTIPHONS” - short passages which both precede and follow the singing or recitation of the Canticle of Our Lady known as the “MAGNIFICAT”, which the Church sings at Vespers each day. Each of these antiphons is a prayer of longing (hence the cry: “O!” which begins each of them).

The Church longs for Christ her Saviour to come and set her free from sin, from oppression, from the darkness of waiting in a world which has abandoned God and has got lost deeper and deeper in sin.

These antiphons are very ancient. The one on the Fourth Sunday antiphon calls Christ the “RISING SUN”, reminding us on the shortest day that although it is the darkest time of year, the light will now gradually return, albeit imperceptibly at first. That sign gives us hope that in the darkest moments of human life, God is still present, though hidden and imperceptible to all but the faithful.         ~    Fr. Paul Dobson