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!
Veni, veni Emmanuel
captivum solve Israel,
qui gemit in exsilio,
privatus Dei Filio.
GAUDE! GAUDE! EMMANUEL,
NASCETUR PRO TE ISRAEL!
O Antiphons are quite an old advent tradition. They were originally a part of Vespers (Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours), and were said or sung before and after the Magnificat, or Canticle of Mary. The first letters of each of the Latin antiphons, when placed in reverse order, spell out the words ERO CRAS:
Emmanuel
Rex Gentium
Oriens
Clavis Davidica
Radix Iesse
Adonai
Sapientia
ERO CRAS can be translated into English as I will be tomorrow, which is quite fitting as the antiphons end on December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve.
O Come O Come Emmanuel is my favorite Christmas (well, "Advent" would be more accurate) song. Here are a few really beautiful versions of it:
Josh Wilson: https://youtu.be/SRdbY3-bTOE
Christendom College Choir & Schola Gregoriana: https://youtu.be/FR-oUzimkLI
Benedictines of Mary: https://youtu.be/MQKV0tgsZLA
The Piano Guys: https://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc
Enjoy!
More Information on O Antiphons
- - to see all O Antiphons, go to the Reflections page of this blog (updated daily) - -
Background/Explanation: https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/the-o-antiphons-an-ancient-advent-tradition/
Monks Chanting O Antiphons in Latin: http://www.liturgies.net/Advent/prayers/oantiphons.htm
