After reading my post earlier this week about the O Emmanuel music CD/mp3, one reader asked that I write another post explaining more about the O Antiphons.
I plead lack of time for a whole special post this week. Besides, there is not need to reinvent the wheel. This essay by Fr. Zulhsdorf explains them pretty well. Furthermore, if you look at the left column of Fr. Z.'s essay, you will see a special link to each of the antiphons. Each one is given in Latin, English, again in Latin with a musical chant setting, scriptural references on which each antiphon is based, and finally, a lengthy and lovely meditation on the antiphon.
So far there are about 20 entries in my previous post for a giveaway of ten copies of the O Emmanuel CD. If you haven't entered yet, then go there and post a comment. State which of the O Antiphons is your favorite. Winners will be picked at random. You chances of winning are pretty good.
Which O Antiphon is my favorite? I think it's O Oriens (O Rising Sun or O Dayspring in English). Although the darkness and shadow of death refer mostly to sin and its consequences, I think this antiphon also makes a great prayer for anyone suffering from seasonal depression.
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer,
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
I plead lack of time for a whole special post this week. Besides, there is not need to reinvent the wheel. This essay by Fr. Zulhsdorf explains them pretty well. Furthermore, if you look at the left column of Fr. Z.'s essay, you will see a special link to each of the antiphons. Each one is given in Latin, English, again in Latin with a musical chant setting, scriptural references on which each antiphon is based, and finally, a lengthy and lovely meditation on the antiphon.
So far there are about 20 entries in my previous post for a giveaway of ten copies of the O Emmanuel CD. If you haven't entered yet, then go there and post a comment. State which of the O Antiphons is your favorite. Winners will be picked at random. You chances of winning are pretty good.
Which O Antiphon is my favorite? I think it's O Oriens (O Rising Sun or O Dayspring in English). Although the darkness and shadow of death refer mostly to sin and its consequences, I think this antiphon also makes a great prayer for anyone suffering from seasonal depression.
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer,
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
