O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High. You create the universe and hold all things together with strength and sweetness. O come and teach us the way of Truth.
O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the law on Mount Sinai. O come and stretch out your mighty hand to redeem us.
O Root of Jesse, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings fall silent before you; nations bow down in worship before you. O come to deliver us and do not delay.
O Key of David and Scepter of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close no one can open. O come to lead the captives from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
O Radiant Dawn, you are the splendor of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
O King whom all the peoples desire, you are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come and deliver the creature you fashioned from the dust of the earth.
O Emmanuel, you are our king and judge, the one whom the peoples await and their Savior. O come and save us, Lord, our God.
The “O Antiphons” are a series of prayers for the season of Advent that date at least from the eighth century. They are arranged so that the first letter of each Latin title for Jesus, in reverse order, forms an acrostic, ERO CRAS, which means “Tomorrow I will come.” Here is the center of our Christian hope. Before we have finished our prayers, amid our longing and exile, Jesus is already answering.
Photo credits:
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