Seven Great Advent Antiphons

During the last seven days of advent before Christmas day, Christians, especially in catholic traditions, during evening prayer, sing “antiphons” – short Latin refrains before and after the daily Psalm. These seven antiphons are based on Old Testament messianic prophecies which give us seven names or titles for the coming of the baby in the manger. The seven Great Messianic antiphons, which all begin with the invocation ‘O Come’, are:

1. ‘Emmanuel’ (cf. Isaiah 7) – the baby in the manger is proof that God is with us; 2. ‘Radix Jesse’ (cf. Isaiah 11) – the baby in the manger is the sign of the kingdom growing like a shoot in us; 3. ‘Oriens’ (cf.Isaiah 9) – the baby in the manger is the light of the world; 4. ‘Clavis David’ (cf. Isaiah 22) – the baby in the manger opens the door for us to enter God’s kingdom; 5. ‘Rex Gentium’ (cf. Isaiah 9) – the baby in the manger is king of the nations; 6. ‘Adonai’ (cf. Isaiah 33:22) – the baby in the manger is our Lord and leader; and 7. ‘Sapientia’ (cf. Isaiah 11) – the baby in the manger is the source of all wisdom and truth.

These seven messianic titles were turned into a hymn in the 1690s titled: ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ (which you won’t be surprised has seven verses). But, at some point around 500AD, the Roman senator and philosopher Boethius, during one Advent season of praying through these seven Great Messianic Titles, took out a pen and circled the first letter of each antiphon to reveal a hidden Latin acrostic: ERO CRAS - which in English means: ‘Tomorrow I will come’. How can Christ have already come 2000 years ago, and yet his coming still be awaited in tomorrow? Yes, we must prepare ourselves for His ultimate victory fulfilled fully at his second coming with His great and glorious return. But more than that, for not only is this our time of Advent, as we wait for God coming again to us, but it is also heaven’s Advent: as God waits for our coming again to Him. Between the first Advent and the second Advent each one of us must experience our own existential Advent. And so we pray: O come Emmanuel, O come King of the Nations, O come bright morning star, O come Key of David and Root of Jesse, O come Adonai our Lord and Leader, O come Wisdom. Ero Cras: tomorrow I will come. Lord Jesus Christ we come again to you. Amen.