O Oriens antiphon

The O Antiphon for today is the "O Oriens".

Information on the O Antiphons

New Catholic Dictionary: O Antiphons; Great Antiphons

What Are The O Antiphons by Father William Saunders

The O Antiphons By Father John Zuhlsdorf

Excerpt

There is a little-known fact about the order of these ancient O Antiphons. This is not apparent in English, but it can be seen clearly in the official language of the Roman Catholic Church: Latin. The Latin versions of each of the titles of the Messiah: Sapientia (Wisdom), Adonai (Lord), Radix (Root), Clavis (Key), Oriens (Dawn), Rex (King), and Emmanuel (Emmanuel). Take the first letters of each of the titles and write them backwards, thus counting down the days of the feast: EROCRAS or "ero cras." This means in Latin "I will be (here) tomorrow"...The song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is simply a slightly modified sung version of the seven O Antiphons.

O Antiphons (@FishEaters)

The O Oriens antiphon

O Oriens: O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Isaiah had prophesied, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown. (Isaiah 9:1).

“O Radiant Dawn” (Zechariah 6:12)
Symbols: Sun with Rays
Come, and shine on those seated in darkness, and in the shadow of death.
O Dawn, splendor of eternal light (Habakkuk 3:4), and Sun of justice (Malachi 3:20); come, and shine on those seated in darkness, and in the shadow of death (Psalm 107:10; Luke 1:78);
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. (Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours. Catholic Book Publishing Co. New York, NY; 1976, 130)

Here is my understanding of the O Oriens antiphon:

This is the O Antiphon that should make people aware of the “ad Orientem” liturgical custom of the Eastern and Latin Rites. I wrote a paper on this topic three years ago, but it is much too long to post here. Please click HERE for a brief explanation of the O Oriens antiphon and the ad Orientem custom:

The O Oriens antiphon of December 21st tells us that our Risen Lord is Light whom we must turn to through conversion at all times to obliterate the darkness within us which is sin so that we may gain salvation, that is, eternal life in Heaven at the particular and general judgments for “just as the natural Sun gives light and life to all upon whom its rays fall, so Christ, the Rising Dawn, dispels darkness and brings eternal life and light.” (Twelve Days of Christmas Kit. Grailville Writing Center. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1955. Excerpt on-line. Available from http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=542) The logical question that follows from this is, “But what is the meaning of ad Orientem and how is it associated with the O Oriens antiphon?”

Ad Orientem is a phrase that derives from the Latin oriens meaning "the rising sun," "the East" or "the dawn" with the preposition "ad" expressing the direction "toward" or "to," hence "eastward" or "toward the East". (“Celebration of Mass Ad Orientem in a Parish Setting" By Father Timothy V. Vaverek, S.T.D.)

This is precisely why, for example, during the Traditional Latin Mass or "Extraordinary Form" of the Latin Rite the priest and the people face the same direction, toward the East. Some modern liturgists wrongly interpret this to mean that the priest "turns his back" to the people when, in fact, both priest and people are united as a people of prayer by praying toward one direction. But why toward the East and not toward the north or south or west or maybe toward all four directions during Mass?

The East is the place of the rising of the Sun and the Sun in many verses in sacred Scripture is regarded as a symbol of Divine Light. For example, Psalm 19:5-6, “The Sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber” is a Christological verse that Saint Augustine and Saint Jerome believed symbolized Jesus who disperses the light and warmth of His grace throughout the world. (Calmet) And Malachi 4:2 is another verse representing cosmic symbolism with a definite notion of Christological typology: “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings…” Zachariah 14:4 also speaks of our Blessed Lord and the symbolism of the East direction: “And his feet shall stand that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.” Ezekiel saw "the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east" and it "entered the Temple by the gate facing east." (Ezekiel 43:4) Interestingly, in the Old Testament, God Himself is called “the East” in Zachariah 6:12: “The Orient (that is, ‘East’) is His name.”

The concept of Divine Light and Eastern “directionalism” is continued in the New Testament. In the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, as was prophesied in the Old Testament, it is recorded that Jesus’ face "shone like the Sun" (Matthew 17:2). Symbolically, the Sun is a symbol of Jesus who is the Light of the World (John 8:12) as opposed to Satan who represents the power of darkness (Colossian 1:13). In the New Testament, the East is the same direction to which Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives when He ascended to Heaven after His death and resurrection (Acts 1:9-12) and it is this same Eastern direction from where He will return at the Second Coming (Acts 1:11). Jesus Himself said, "As the lightning comes from the east so will be the coming of the Son of man" (Matthew 24:27). The very last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation or Apocalypse, says the Angel of the Lord will also come from the East at the end of time. He will be "ascending from the rising of the Sun" (Revelation 7:2). Earlier in the Book of Revelation, it is mentioned that when Jesus returns His face will be like "the Sun shining in full strength." (Revelation 1:16) and this is why in the early Church praying toward the East and the rising Sun was liturgically and theologically important because Jesus is the Sun of justice who ascended to the East and whose second coming and final judgment will begin from the direction of the East.

In the early Church, the Christians during that time were mostly converts from Judaism and so the ad Orientem direction of prayer was something that was quite familiar to them because in the Jewish tradition it was believed that the garden of Eden was located in the East and represented an earthly paradise made by God (see the Book of Genesis). Traditionally, Jews pray toward Jerusalem (Muslims pray toward Mecca). The early Christians, however, turned toward the East for theological or eschatologically different reasons because of Christ’s Ascension toward the East which points to the Heavenly realm and His Second Coming which will commence from the East. (Msgr. Klaus Gamber. Reform of the Roman Liturgy: Its Problems and Background. Fort Collins: Roman Catholic Books; 1993, 162)

This tradition in the Church of liturgical "directionalism" was also emphasized in the writings among many popular saints throughout the early Church. For example, St. Augustine:

"When we rise to pray, we turn East, where heaven begins. And we do this not because God is there, as if He had moved away from the other directions on earth …,but rather to help us remember to turn our mind towards a higher order, that is, to God." (Msgr. Klaus Gamber. Reform of the Roman Liturgy: Its Problems and Background. Fort Collins: Roman Catholic Books; 1993, 80)

A couple of centuries later, the eastern Church Father, Saint John Damascene (A.D. 675-749), also emphasized in one of his writings the ad Orientem custom when wrote:

"At His ascent into Heaven He went to the East, and so do the Apostles pray to Him; He will come again as the Apostles saw Him going, and so the Lord Himself says: 'As the lightening comes forth from the East and shines even to the West, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.' Since we wait for Him, we pray toward the East. This is the unwritten tradition of the Apostles." (St. John Damascene. De fide Orthodoxa. IV, 12. PG 94:1136)

It is proper through the ad Orientem posture to recall the resurrection and to anticipate the coming of our Lord, the Sun of justice, who will come again in glory from the East to judge the living and the dead. We can and should do this by turning toward Him in worship 'ad Orientem' during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass lest we forget the indictment the Lord made through the prophet Jeremiah when he said: “They have turned their backs to me, and not their faces” (Jeremiah 2:27).

2009 All Rights Reserved. Kevin D. Dello Iacono.