Archdiocese Of St. Louis

As we continue our advent journey anticipating the birth of Jesus focusing on different characters of the Jesse Tree, today being Nehemiah (read Nehemiah 8-9: http://usccb.org/bible/nehemiah/8), we we are shifting that focus a bit as we begin a special period in our Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas. During this time we recite or chant the O Antiphons following the "Magnificat" during Vespers from December 17 through December 23. They are called the O Antiphons because each begins with the interjection, “O,” followed by a title for the Messiah given in the prophecies of Isaiah. You may be more familiar with the metrical paraphrase version of the O antiphons that make up the very familiar Advent hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” but if we are not familiar with the actual texts of the antiphons we are missing a great deal of their meaning. While we do not have time in this brief reflection to read the Antiphons in their entirety, I encourage you to do so in your personal prayer time. The