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Liturgy: The Church's Spirituality
Bruce T. Morrill, S.J.
FROM ADVENT INTO CHRISTMAS
O EMMANUEL, COME
The Advent hymn most familiar and popular among
North American Roman Catholics is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,"
the nineteenth century adaptation and English translation of a much
earlier Latin chant based on a series of even more ancient antiphons.
The power of these words, in conjunction with the serene melody,
is evident in the quiet fervor with which believers intone them
annually in expectation of the feast of Christmas. A brief
exploration into the origins and structure of this traditional treasure
reveals the spirituality inherent in the Church’s celebration
of the last week of Advent and the Feast of Christmas.
The Content of the "O" Antiphons
By the ninth century the church at Rome, as well
as throughout the Emperor Charlemagne’s dominion, adopted a
series of seven special antiphons to accompany the singing of the
Magnificat during Vespers (Evening Prayer) in the final week leading
up to Christmas. Called the "Great O Antiphons,"
due to their each beginning with the acclamation, "O,"
these verses to this very day both signal the shift in the thematic
focus of Advent on December 17th and, nightly series that they are,
function as a countdown to the Feast of the Lord’s Nativity.
The structure and content of the antiphons, nonetheless, continue
to proclaim the fundamental truth we celebrate throughout the Advent-Christmas
Season: We are called to live our lives now in the practical
hope of Christ’s second, definitive coming, the promise of
which was begun in his first coming among us as a man. The
Great O Antiphons poetically meditate on the qualities that characterize
the life that God has given us through the life, death, and resurrection
of the Messiah.
The seven antiphons share a common pattern.
They begin with the cry, "O," address the Messiah according
to a specific biblical title, and then recount the salvific will
and action of God remembered by that title. On the basis of
this divine name and memory follows the human plea, "Come,"
accompanied by the request that God act now, again, according to
the same saving pattern, hoping that God will finally bring the
pattern to completion. Thus, the first antiphon, sung on the
evening of December 17th: "O Wisdom, O holy Word of God,
you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come
and show your people the way to salvation."
Over the ensuing nights the Christ of God is acclaimed
Lord of Israel, Flower of Jesse’s Stem, Key of David, Radiant
Dawn, King of All Nations, Keystone of the Human Arch (that is,
the span of all humanity), and, finally, Emmanuel. With those
titles come remembrances of God as the One who gives the Law, raises
up Israel as a sign to the nations, delivers his people from death’s
captivity, reveals justice for the oppressed, gives true joy and
peace to every human heart, and promises freedom from sin to every
creature he has created from the dust. Each time we, as the
Church, remember with God who God is for us in these antiphons,
we are emboldened to ask that God bring about, finally, the peace
and justice, freedom from sin and death, and deliverance of all
from whatever oppression that the Messiah’s coming will enact.
The Liturgy’s Prayers During
the Last Days of Advent
Christmas draws us into warm memories of such great
divine love coming to us through the joyful Virgin Mary in the
baby she bore for the life of the world. The homely scenes of the
biblical stories, celebrated in the poetry of carols and other enchanting
artistic images, touch our hearts by the awesome realization of
the depths of God’s love in emptying himself into the life
of Jesus for us. Our prayers in the last liturgies of Advent
and throughout the feast of Christmas beg God to fill us with the
same Holy Spirit who created the child in Mary’s womb and raised
her son, obedient unto death, from the tomb. If only we live
in the power of that same Spirit, given to each of us in baptism
and renewed in us at every Eucharist, then we can actually experience
together—here and now—the very presence of Christ.
In reconciling sinners, working for peace, healing the sick and
lonely, advocating justice for the hungry and homeless, accompanying
the dying and comforting their mourners, we share in the very life
of God, the one who is Emmanuel, "God with us."
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