Pause in Advent 23rd December - O Antiphons - O Emmanuel

Listen, read, reflect 

From the Bible;

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

(Emmanuel means God is with us).

 

The Antiphon;

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,

exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:

veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

In English;

 

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,

the hope of the nations and their Saviour:

Come and save us, O Lord our God.

 

From the hymn;

 O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Pause in Advent 22nd December - O Antiphons - O Rex Gentium

 Listen, Read, Reflect;

From the Bible;

For a child has been born for us, a son given us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."                                                                                  Isaiah 9:6

"He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."                                                                                                         Isaiah 2:4

"But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.                                                        Isaiah 64:8

Also compare Isaiah 28:16 and Ephesians 2:14

 

The Antiphon;

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,

lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:

veni, et salva hominem,

quem de limo formasti.

 

 In English; 

O King of the nations, and their desire,

the cornerstone making both one:

Come and save the human race,

which you fashioned from clay.

from the hymn;

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Pause in Advent 21st December - O Antiphons - O Oriens

 The Antiphon for 21st December; listen, read, reflect

From the Bible;

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

Also compare Isaiah 60:1-2 and Malachi 4:2 or Malachi 3:20 (Hebrew text)

 

The Antiphon

O Oriens,

splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:

veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

 

In English

 Morning Star,

splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:

Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

(Note: A literal translation of the Latin yields "O Rising Sun", but the poetic "O Morning Star" or "O Dayspring" is often preferred.)

 

From the hymn;

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,

And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Pause in Advent 20th December - O Antiphons - O Clavis David

 Antiphon for 20th December; listen, read, reflect

From the Bible;

"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

"His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore." Isaiah 9:7

"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.

 

The Antiphon

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.

In English;

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.

 

From the Hymn;

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Pause in Advent 19th December - O Antiphons - O Radix Jesse

 The O Antiphon for 19th December; listen, read, reflect.

From the Bible;

"A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."                                                                                                                  Isaiah 11:1

"On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious."                                      Isaiah 11:10

The Antiphon in Latin

O radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,

super quem continebunt reges os suum,

quem Gentes deprecabuntur:

veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

 

The Antiphon in English

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.

 

 

The verse from the hymn O Come, O come Emmanuel

 O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Pause in Advent 18th Dec - O Antiphons - O Adonai

 Here is the O Antiphon for 18th December - listen; read; reflect.

From the Bible

"[…] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins."                                                                                                                                                Isaiah 11:4-5

"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us."                                                                                                            Isaiah 33:22

Also compare Exodus 3:2 and Exodus 24:12

The Antiphon

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,

Qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,

Et ei in Sina legel dedisti:

Veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

 

The Antiphon in English

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.

 

From the hymn;

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Pause in Advent - O Antiphons 1 - O Sapienta

I am scheduling a 'Pause' in Advent' post for every day until Friday 23rd December.

Tonight is the night when the first of the seven 'O Antiphons' are sung at Vespers in monasteries, convents, churches,abbeys and cathedrals everywhere.

I have used several sources to find out about these antiphons, and wikipedia is as good a place as any to start.   

The O antiphons, so called because they each start with 'O', followed by a name given to the Messiah in the Old Testament prophecies, were probably written around the time of the 6th Century in Italy. Many peoplewill be familiar with them without knowing, from singing the Advent hymn 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel'.

Starting today, I shall post the text in Latin and Englaish, the verse from the hymn, and a link t the Antiphon. I invite you to take a short time to read the words, listen to the antiphon once or twice (they are very, very short) and reflect on the words.

Each year that I do this, I discover more hidden within the meanings, and this has become part of my Advent.

Let's begin;

O Sapienta

From the Bible;

"The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord."                                                            Isaiah 11:2-3

 

“…he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom”                            Isaiah 28:29

The Antiphon in Latin;

O Sapienta quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,

Attingens a fine usque ad finem,

Fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:

Veni ad dodecendum nos viam prudentiae.

And in English;

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.

  

From the hymn;

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

The Great 'O' Antiphons

 If you search for 'Antiphon' on this blog you will find several references to these Advent antiphons in years go by. 

It looks as though I first came across them in 2011, thanks to the ibenedictines.org blog post here  where Sister Catherine Wybourne explains what they are and where they fit into the Advent liturgy.

You can also find the texts in Latin and English, and links to the music at www.themathesontrust.org website here. This site also gives the scripture passages from the Old Testatement book of Isaiah from which the antiphons come.

As I posted earlier, I am a member of a group - two groups now (!) -  which meet on zoom to listen to the antiphons, read the text and the Isaiah verses, and spend time thinking about them to see what comes to mind. I am finding these weekly sessions illuminating, and also restful, and calming, and a time to feel more and more expectant about the coming of Advent. 

We have been taking one antiphon per week, and will finish jst before the fourth Sunday in Advent. The usual liturgical practice is to sing one every evening in the seven days before Christmas Eve.

I'll finish with an extract from ibenedictines;

At present, there are seven O antiphons in use. Each addresses Christ using a Messianic title drawn from the prophecies of the Old Testament. Read backwards, the initials of each title in Latin form the words Cras ero or ‘Tomorrow I shall be (with you)’.

Sapientia (Wisdom)
Adonai (Holy Lord)
Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse)
Clavis David (Key of David)
Oriens (Dayspring or Morning Star)
Rex Gentium (King of the Nations)

Emmanuel (God-with-us)  

Saturday 6th November - Nothing to see here, no wait...

As I mentioned a day or so ago, three new cherry trees have been planted outside our neighbours along the round and opposite. What a great idea!

I made some preliminary enquiries, and now I am wishing I had been a bit quicker off the mark, like acted six months ago... 

We too have had a truck turn up, and with remarkable efficiency, we too, have had something planted right outside our front window! 

This is taken through the upstairs window; a stonking girt big telegraph pole, complete with a notice saying we have a short period of time to appeal against it! So, peering through the left hand pane, I have an eye-level view of the telegraph pole, and through the right hand pane is the street light, which has always been there in one form or another. If you take into account the fire hydrant access cover just to the left of the telegraph pole that doesn't leave much room for a cherry tree!

I'm not over-joyed to have the pole in front of our window, but I take comfort from the fact that I can't see it when I am sitting in my usual place, and I suspect that after a while I will stop noticing it. I am told that the new cabling is not as strong as the old copper cables, so the poles have to be closer together. We shan't make an objection - some one has to have a post, why shouldn't it us?

I am already feeling very 'Advent'-y. I met on zoom with some friends last night to listen to and reflect on the first of the seven Great 'O' antiphons; O Sapienta - O Wisdom. These have been around since the 6th century, if I have remembered aright, and are usually sung at Vespers in the days leading up to Christmas Eve. We are meeting to think about one each week. You can find out all about them on wikipedia, or this site has information and links to the plainsong chants. Many people already know them through the Advent hymn 'O come, O come Emmanuel'  which is a 19th century paraphrase.

I have also already started on the Advent tealights;

They are very simple - just a piece of Christmas washi tape stuck around the edge!

If you are interested in the Johanna Basford 30 days of Creativity course - the videos and ideas, if not the actual book, you can sign up here; today is sweets.

Monday 23rd December - A day full of incident

But first, and maybe last, the O Antiphon of the Day - listen, and relax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U21la_YEJbY

O Emmanuel, our King and lawgiver, for whom the nations wait, their Saviour: come to save us, Lord, our God.

Now, those incidents;

I am mulling over in my mind what to do about refreshments after my godmother's funeral in the New Year. It is possible that there may be only a scant dozen present; me, Himself, my father, maybe her cousin, her next-door neighbours, their neighbours, and possibly one of the delightful team who came in every day during the last ten days of my godmother's life. So that's nine. In a chapel that holds up to one hundred. They had better not all sit in the back row!

So, about these refreshments - I know that the neighbours won't stay, they said so, and now we are down to a possible seven. All I want is somewhere that will let us sit in a quiet corner of a lounge and serve tea, coffee, and a slice of cake. Maybe a sandwich.

I do not want to book a full buffet for a minimum of 20 people!

Still, I have another couple of days to sort things out.

We drove to that neck of the woods today, through a lovely bright morning, admiring the shimmering effect of the sun on the flooded fields on either side of the rivers... found the crematorium, looked at one nearby venue (closed), tried to find another, and then our attention was caught by a strange noise coming from the car tyres. At this stage we were on a busy dual carriageway, so kept going until we reached the first venue - a pub called the Golden Retriever. Now open! This meant that I could wait in the warm, by an open fire, while Himself and the AA solved the flat tyre problem - fitting the space-saver spare.

I'd have chosen the Gold Retriever for the funeral refreshments then and there, but for two things - 'we are usually open by half past ten' - hmm, usually is not good enough - and 'no, we don't serve cake'.

By this time we were pretty well finished, so drove to my godmother's house, picked up a few things that we need, and then to a nearby restaurant/hotel for lunch. He had a steak - it had been that kind of day. This place would be pretty well perfect, but they don't serve cake either. Just restaurant and bistro food.

After a good meal we just came home, for coffee and - not cake, mincemeat surprise scone from yesterday, warmed with butter. He's organised a new tyre for Friday, and I've informed one set of relatives 'I doubt we'll be able to come - Mum and Dad are very frail now; even getting to the shops is a huge effort for them' and the other is not answering the phone tonight.

Supper was easy - I made vegetable soup, and have set aside two portions for the freezer. If we don't have them later, I'll have soup to take to work next term.

There's a fair bit of tinselling to do yet - it might happen, or it might not.

I keep getting distracted by other things... knitting.... doodling

Saturday 21st December - O Oriens

On the shortest day, this is the O antiphon

O come, thou dayspring, come and cheer thy people by thine advent here Dispel the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadow put to flight.

Today the gloomy clouds came and went, interspersing heavy rain - and it was heavy, too, landing like a series of heavy blows on my shoulders as I took the peelings out to the compost bin - with clear skies and cold winter brightness.

We did The Big Christmas Grocery Shopping Trip today. The shelves were absolutely full of turkeys of every size and style and price at about half past eight in the morning, which was incredibly annoying, as we have reserved our turkey and half paid for it, and now have to go and collect it tomorrow afternoon when we could have been - for example - not going out and collecting it. Next year....

The deal was that I would take over cooking from today.

So far, so good;

We had sausage rolls and a little salad of grated carrot, lettuce and pickles for lunch, some chilli prawns as 'a little smackerel of something' at tea time,

"Nearly eleven o'clock," said Pooh happily. "You're just in time for a little smackerel of something."

and then cheesy baked potatoes and a lamb and vegetable stewish kind of thing for supper. The lamb stewish thing assembled itself gradually. I started by sweating some onion and garlic, thinking I would mix that into the baked potato with some cheese, and then cooked some frozen peas with a half carrot that was cluttering up the bottom of the fridge. It wasn't looking too promising, so I added half a tin of tomatoes - still not looking wonderful.

Then I remembered that we had retrieved all the portions of pureed slow-cooked lamb we had made for my godmother and delivered to her freezer - so added that to the vegetable-soupish mixture, turning it into a rather good stewish mixture. Good to know I haven't lost the skills accumulated over thirty-something years.

The remaining portions of lamb, some in chunks, some finely chopped, some pureed, will be combined with the portions of pureed potato also in the freezer to make cottage pie at some stage between now and New Year. I'm looking forward to it - and if you are coming round here for a meal in that period you had better be looking forward to it too!

Friday 20th December - Growing up - and O Clavis David

actually, I'm pretty good at folding fitted sheets these days, even king-sized double sheets  - so long as the process works first time. Otherwise I might just tantrum. I teeny bit.

I've been a grownup for quite a lot of today, filling in forms to do with my Godmother's affairs, phoning solicitors for advice, discussing bank accounts, and even completing nearly all of my tax return when it is nowhere near 31st January!

A lot of chocolate is needed to keep going. Fortunately we have a whole big box of Marks and Spencer chocolate truffles which I had bought to take round as part of my contribution to a Book Club Meal, but left at home,turning up with just a couple of falafels and a dish of marinaded tomatoes. So that has left us with plenty of chocolate to add to the daily Advent calendar ration.

Not ALL the wrappers are mine...  

I feel as though I have too many time-critical projects to complete and need to keep track of. I think this is roughly the order of importance now;

Christmas Food Shopping - deadline - in time to cook Christmas Dinner

Christmas Present Wrapping - deadline - in time to open them on Christmas Day

Funeral arrangements - we've set the date for early next year, but before then we need to arrange where to go for eatables afterwards, draft an order of service and choose photographs for said order of service. Actually, I've just sent the draft and photographs off by email. 

We've also got to arrange payment, part in advance, part afterwards, which relies on telling her bank as this is the only thing they are prepared to release any funds for ...see below.... 

Probate forms - deadline - sooner rather than later - this means completing a great wadge of pages of questions to answer, and copies of important documents to gather. We'll take it all down to the registry office, rather than entrust original documents to the Mail at this time of year. 

 

Bank Accounts - set up an account, fill it up with money, and then switch all the standing orders for payments regarding my Godmother's property, BEFORE informing her bank which has told us they will freeze her account once we tell them.

Tell my Godmother's bank about her decease - deadline - sooner rather than later - but after we think we have redirected all the payments.

And then, on my own account,

My Tax Return - deadline - complete and pay before Jan 31st - at the moment I am locked out of the payroll system at work so can't get some of the details before next week

Send out invoices and accompanying emails to pupils - deadline - 4th January or thereabouts 

This invoicing lark is always good for some confusion - from years of experience I know I am certain to attach the wrong invoice, or forget to attach an invoice, or send out a whole batch with typos and incorrect dates - I blame my artistic temperament (one 'super-spiritual' churchy friend informed me that he thought I had a Gift for administration - at that point he lost most of his credibility in my eyes)

Today's Antiphon

Latin: 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. English Translation: 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.