Advent responsory: Bethlehem, the city of the most high God

Today's O antiphon is O Adonai.

And for a responsory, I want to take a brief look at Bethlehem civitas Dei, the second responsory for the Third Sunday of Advent as well as Monday in week three of Advent, brings us back firmly to the events of Christmas itself, but also on the implications of the Incarnation: 

R. Bethléhem, / cívitas Dei summi, ex te éxiet Dominátor Israël, † et egréssus eius sicut a princípio diérum æternitátis, † et magnificábitur in médio univérsæ terræ: * Et pax erit in terra nostra, dum vénerit. V. Loquétur pacem in géntibus, † et potéstas eius a mari usque ad mare. R. Et pax erit in terra nostra, dum vénerit.

R. From you, Bethlehem, city of the Most High God, shall come forth he that is to be ruler of Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, and now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. * And there will be the peace in our land when he comes. V. He shall speak peace unto the gentiles, and shall have dominion from sea to sea. R. And there will be the peace in our land when he comes.

The text of the respond is based on Micah 5:2:

Et tu, Bethlehem Ephrata, parvulus es in millibus Juda; ex te mihi egredietur qui sit dominator in Israël, et egressus ejus ab initio, a diebus æternitatis.

Bethlehem-Ephrata! Least do they reckon thee among all the clans of Juda? Nay, it is from thee I look to find a prince that shall rule over Israel. Whence comes he? From the first beginning, from ages untold. (Knox translation).

The verse is from Zachariah 9:10.

This is another responsory that may have come into the Roman repertoire from Gaul or Spain.

It is worth noting though, that many of the Advent seasonal responsories we have been looking at were almost certainly not those used in the Benedictine Office in St Benedict's time due to the strongly ferial character of the Office at that time, but also because Advent (the Ember days aside) was mostly a rather late arrival to Rome.  Although Christmas was introduced into the calendar early on, and the lead up to the feast quickly spread in the West, in Rome the pre-season itself seems to have developed only over the later part of the sixth century.

The Great O's : O Emmanuel (December 23)

The Annunciation, by Jacopo Torriti, Santa Maria Maggiore.

At Lauds today, the Benedictus antiphon is of the date rather than the Advent day: it announces that all the things the angel promised to Our Lady have been fulfilled (Ecce completa sunt omnia, quae dicta sunt per Angelum de Virgine Maria).

At Vespers today, we enjoy the final O antiphon, O Emmanuel:

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and Salvation thereof; come to save us, O Lord our God!

Let us pray therefore that all might be filled with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom...

The Great Os: O Rex gentium (December 22)

Today's O antiphon is O Rex Gentium:

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and Desire thereof, O Cornerstone that makest of twain one; come to save man, whom thou hast made of the dust of the earth!

Pray therefore for the gift of piety - godliness -  so that all may acknowledge and truly serve our King.

The Great O's: O Oriens (December 21)

Today's O antiphon, O Oriens, is sung as part of the commemoration of the feria:

O Day-Spring, brightness of the everlasting Light, Sun of Righteousness; come, to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death!

The antiphon reflects the prophesy of Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined. Isaiah 9:2

We should pray then, for the gift of knowledge to illuminate us and guide our leaders.

The Great O's: O clavis David (December 20)

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel that openest, and no man shutteth; and shuttest and no man openeth; come to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death!

The prophesies:

I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. Isaiah 22:22

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Isaiah 42:7.

Let us then pray for the gift of fortitude for ourselves and our leaders, so that we may be lead out of prison and darkness at the proper time.

The Great O's: O Radix Iesse (December 19)

Today's O antiphon is O root of Jesse, a reference to the famous concept of the 'Jesse tree' that traces the ancestry of Jesus, and typically key events in salvation history, based on Isaiah 11:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.  And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.  And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. 

He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: land he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.  And justice shall be the girdle of his loins: and faith the girdle of his reins.

The text of the antiphon itself is:

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at whom the kings shall shut their mouths, to whom the Gentiles shall seek; come to deliver us, make no tarrying!

Let us therefore pray for the gift of counsel for ourselves and above all for our leaders, that they might discern and follow the path he has flagged, and not some other, and thus avoid judgment and condemnation at the last.

The Great O's: O Adonai (December 18)

Moses receives the law, c840

Today's O antiphon is O Adonai (Lord):

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Perhaps we could pray especially today for all lawmakers and leaders, including those God is calling to step up to the plate, that they might respond to the graces given to them, and that they and we might be granted the gift of understanding.

The Great Os: December 17 and wisdom

St Hildegarde Scivias manuscript: Wisdom

From Saturday this week (December 17) the liturgy intensifies, with all days being Class II, and set antiphons used at Lauds to Vespers for each day of the week.

Rubrics reminder

The Office between December 17 and December 23 is at its most complex for the year, so just a quick reminder of the essentials:

• the psalms continue to be those used throughout the year for the appropriate day of the week  as normal (so  for December 17, of Saturday as set out in the psalter section of your Diurnal, or Breviary);
• the antiphons for the psalms from Lauds to Vespers are for the day of the week between December 17 and 23 (so for Saturday December 17, the first antiphon of Lauds, also used at Prime, is Intuemini, quam sit gloriosus iste) and can be found in the front of your Diurnal or Breviary (normally around the texts for week III of Advent depending on the edition);
• the chapters, versicles, hymns (at Lauds and Vespers) and responsories are from the Ordinary of Advent (front section of your Diurnal or Breviary, Propers of Time);
• the Benedictus antiphon at Lauds is either of the Advent day (ie Saturday in the third week of Advent, viz Quomodo fiet istud) or the date (in the case of December 23); and
• the Magnificat antiphon is the O antiphon set for the date.

The main exception to these rules is the feast of St Thomas on December 21.

O antiphon of the day

The highlight of this period is surely the singing of the 'O' antiphons at Vespers.

Tomorrow's is O Sapientia:

O Wisdom, that comest out of the mouth of the Most High, that reachest from one end to another, and dost mightily and sweetly order all things; come, to teach us the way of prudence!

You might want to consider using the O antiphons to pray for the sevenfold gifts of the spirit, both for ourselves and for our leaders each day.  In that light, pray then, not just for ourselves, but also that our leaders - secular and ecclesiastical - might be blessed with the gift of wisdom.

Truly I will come: The Great O's

The liturgy is becoming more intense in the lead up to Christmas.  This Sunday at Matins the invitatory antiphon has become 'The Lord is now near O come, let us adore Him'.

And from next Saturday we enter the most intense part of the liturgy in the lead up to Christmas, with daily sets of antiphons for the psalms from Lauds to Vespers, and special sets of canticle antiphons.

At Lauds, the Benedictus antiphons are mostly those of the day of the Advent week, but there are some reserved for particular dates.  At Vespers though, we sing the famous 'O Antiphons' which particular to the dates.

I'll post some notes on the liturgy each day once the O antiphons start, but as requested, herewith a short introduction.

An ancient tradition

Just how old the O antiphons are is not known, however they seem to have been known in sixth century Italy, given a reference to them by St Benedict's contemporary, St Boethius.   

At Fleury, famous (or infamous depending on your perspective!) for its raid on Monte Cassino to acquire the relics of SS Benedict and Scholastica circa 660, the antiphons were recited by the abbot and senior monks in descending rank, and then a gift was given to each member of the community. 

The texts of the O antiphons will probably seem pretty familiar to most people, because they were paraphrased into a twelfth century hymn, Veni, veni Emmanuel (O Come O come Emmanuel) which continues to be sung in both English and Latin in numerous versions.

The texts

Each of the texts refers to key prophesies of Christ, mostly from Isaiah.  There is, however, another level to them, as they have been arranged so that if you work backwards, the first letter of each one together forms two words, viz Ero Cras, or tomorrow I will come, viz:

(December 23) O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster. (O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour: Come and save us, O Lord our God.)

(December 22) O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti. (O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.)

(December 21) O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. (O Dayspring, splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.)

(December 20) O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis. (O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel; you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.)

(December 19) O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare. (O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.)

(December 18) O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento. (O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.)

(December 17) O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae. (O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.)

Truly, I will come...

But there is also a very nice piece of the English tradition that is worth knowing about.  In medieval England an eighth antiphon was added by starting the set a day early and adding an extra antiphon to the end of the sequence, thus making the acrostic Vero cras, or truly tomorrow (I will come).  An alternative solution, adopted in the recording below, is to sing it on December 24.

Here is the traditional text:

O Virgo virginum, quomodo fiet istud?
Quia nec primam similem visa es nec habere sequentem.
Filiae Jerusalem, quid me admiramini?
Divinum est mysterium hoc quod cernitis.

Or:

O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be?
For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after.
Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me?
The thing which ye behold is a divine mystery.

The O antiphons are pretty easy to learn, as they all have a very similar chant tone.  Over time of course, numerous other settings of them have also been made.