O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

“O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Sun of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!”

Thus sings the Church on December 21, the darkest day of the year. On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies discussed the Catholic tradition of preparing for Advent by singing the “O Antiphons,” which are short sung sentences describing a specific aspect of prayerful meditation on the eternal Truth — God’s incarnation in the womb of a virgin named Mary. They are sung at sunset (Vespers) both before and after recitation of Mary’s “Magnificat,” wherein she describes her joy at being chosen by God to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah, who came to banish darkness and death, bringing everlasting light. Each Advent season in America, congregations of Catholics and Protestants participate in this tradition perhaps without knowing that is what they are doing; they sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which is Catholic and has origins that are more than a thousand years old. Join us as we discuss these ancient chants, how they were weaved so thoroughly into our Christian consciousness, and how the Internet is making everything old new again. — Streamed December 19, 2024

Melinda Kathleen Reese singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” in the church of Montefrio, Spain: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H6zswBOzxig

Amelia McKee, “The O Antiphons and the Stammheim Missal”: https://liturgicalyearinart.substack.com/p/the-o-antiphons-and-the-stammheim

The Stammheim Missal: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107TJA

On the Advent Lyrics: https://unauthorizedmedievalhistory.blogspot.com/2019/12/episode-12-getting-medieval-on-earendel.html