Category: Holy Days

We shall end this Advent chant sequence with the hymn assembled from the O Antiphons. I’ve also posted one of my favourite Christmas songs, which is particularly appropriate in the deeps of Christmas Vigil. May all who read these words have a truly blessed Christmas.

We come to the last of the O Antiphons, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the Vigil of the Nativity. I mentioned yesterday that the O Antiphons were arranged backwards into the song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. This was by design, for the Antiphons themselves are a backwards acrostic. The first letters of the Messianic titles — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, […]

Advent is my favourite of the liturgical seasons, I think. These holy days feel like holy days, probably the only season that affects me like that. I suspect it’s childhood memories that make it so. With Christmas literally days away, we hear the penultimate O Antiphon this evening. I mentioned a couple of days ago that the antiphons might sound […]

Just came back from a neighbour’s solstice party, a strange but wonderful concatenation of Christians and pagans. I am more impressed than ever with the various types in the pagan faiths that are echoes or pre-echoes of the coming of Christ, the Light of the World. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who […]

Christmas is closer and closer each day, and we continue pleading with the Lord to make haste. Lead us from our prison of sin and darkness and death! It’s dark outside now as I’m posting this at scarcely six o’clock. The winter solstice, the longest night of the year, is nigh. This year, it’s even a more tangible symbol of […]

By now some of you might be thinking that the O Antiphon words might be sounding kind of familiar, even though you’re not really up on your Gregorian Chant. In fact, these antiphons are some of the earliest attested antiphons in the Divine Office, being mentioned in passing in the works of Saint Boethius in the early sixth century. The […]

Today is the second “O” antiphon, O Adonai. These videos, which I will be embedding each day until Christmas, were recorded by the Dominican student brothers at Oxford in 2006. O Adonái, et Dux domus Israël, qui Móysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuísti, et ei in Sina legem dedísti: veni ad rediméndum nos in bráchio exténto. Englished: O Adonai, and […]

As Advent draws to its end, we begin the “O” antiphons at Vespers. These days, I’m praying the Office on the train, so no chant for us any more. Today being my birthday, I went home early, and so prayed Vespers around 4:00PM. Hopefully some day we can chant Vespers again in a parish (or at least chapel) setting. But […]

Enjoy! I wonder what (if any) version of this will be sung in my parish today? Veni Sancte Spiritus Veni, Sancte Spiritus,et emítte caélituslucis tuae rádium. Veni, pater páuperum,veni, dator múnerum,veni, lumen córdium. Consolator óptime,dulcis hospes animae.dulce refrigerium. In labóre réquies,in aestu tempéries,in fletu solácium. O lux beatíssima, reple cordis íntimatuórum fidélium. Sine tuo númine,nihil est in hómine,nihil est innoxium. […]