Friday, December 17, 2010

Just another dead blog and the "O" Antiphons

OK, I know what you're thinking - 5 weeks and no new post, obviously this is just another dead blog!

Sorry to disappoint but it's not (dead that is). St Malachy has had a very busy end to 2010, Deo gratias, and blogging has fallen by the wayside.

As from 17 December we enter the second "part" of advent. Each evening from today until 23 December we use the one of the great "O" Antiphons before and after the Magnificat during Vespers (Evening Prayer).

Each of the "O" Antiphons is a name of Christ, one of His attributes from Scripture and each contains a prophecy from Isaiah concerning the coming of the Messiah. The well known hymn "O come, O come, Emmanuel" is a paraphrase of the "O" Antiphons.

Today we start with O sapienta - O wisdom:

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

In English:

O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High.
You fill the universe and hold all things together
in a strong yet gentle manner.
O come to teach us the way of truth.

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