A Benedictine Gift

The Benedictine monks who arranged the O Antiphons built a hidden, yet delightful, little present into the collection for you to unwrap. You see, the seven messianic titles we have been praying with the past week contain a special message for all. Below are listed the titles in their original languages (Latin or Hebrew), which were compiled and placed into the Liturgy of the Hours (breviary). I have also shown the English counterparts and the dates for each title for clarity.

(shown at right is an example of a Benedictine illumination - notice the Nativity detail and Gregorian notation)

Sapientia - (Wisdom) - Dec 17th
Adonai - (LORD) - Dec 18th
Radix Jesse - (Stump of Jesse) - Dec 19th
Clavis David - (Key of David) - Dec 20th
Oriens - (Radiant Dawn) - Dec 21st
Rex Gentium - (King of Nations) - Dec 22nd
Emmanuel - (God with us) - Dec 23rd


To unwrap your gift, take the first letter of each title and arrange them in reverse order to get EROCRAS – “ero cras” is a Latin phrase that translates "tomorrow, I will come." And indeed He will come tomorrow. To enjoy your gift, go to Mass and receive the Body and Blood of the One born in Bethlehem, the city of David.

Merry Christmas to you all!

And thanks to the holy monks who cleverly wrote, arranged and wrapped this gift for us. May they rejoice forever with their God who is so different, so unique, so One.

Dec 23 - O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.

Our final O Antiphon uses the greatest of all the Messianic titles - Emmanuel. Each of the titles of the messiah also correspond to a prophecy given by Isaiah. Today the greatest of the prophecies is foretold:

• Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. -- Isaiah 7:14

This title is the most appropriate, most complete, most comprehensive, and yes, the most different as well.

You see, the whole story of the Incarnation is contained in this wonderful title of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ -- God with us. Our God redeems us, sanctifies us, and consecrates all people and all time by this different way -- by coming to earth and making all things new. By redeeming us by becoming one of us. Only a God that loves you far beyond your ability to comprehend it would enter His own creation as a creature Himself, in the most unassuming way. That is why Emmanuel is the greatest title of the Messiah.

This is how the title was first written in Hebrew by the prophet Isaiah:

Emman el

It is actually two words, as you can see from the split between the characters - Emmanu (with us) and El (God). El is the most ancient and simplest Hebrew word for God. We see it comprising a portion of names of important figures in Sacred Scripture, for example Ezekiel, Michael, Gabriel & Raphael.

And of course, in titles of God himself: El, Elohim, El Shaddai, Elah, Eloah, Elyon.

But even as wonderful as the title is, the name that we receive tomorrow night is greater still. The name that will be given the swaddling baby by his mother and father - the name that was pre-given to Mary even at the announcement of his entry into this world.

Praise to you, God with-us: thank you for loving us so much that you became one of us. Thank you for revealing yourself to us more and more through salvation history. Thank you for choosing us, calling us, setting us apart, commissioning us, and for loving us -- to be more precise, thank you for loving us, literally, to the death.

PS: In a few moments I will share with you a special gift that Benedictine monks wrapped for you centuries ago . . .

Dec 22 - O King

O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from dust.

Christ is the head of us all. He is mighty God and Prince of Peace. He is the Lion of Judah. His fore-bearer, David was King of Israel, but the Messiah comes as King of the Gentiles (Nations). He bridges both the chosen ones and the nations into a single, coherent arch.

An arch held together by the perfect keystone - the One who makes all things complete; and the One who makes all fallen creatures new - by the blood of His cross.

A different way of salvation, a way that only the Everlasting God could have imagined, coming into his creation to save it from within.

Dec 21 - O Radiant Dawn

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Our antiphon today reminds us of the Canticle of Zechariah, called the Benedictus, which is prayed each morning in the Liturgy of the Hours at Lauds (also called Morning Prayer).

Zechariah was a priest, descended from the lineage of Aaron, as was his wife, Elizabeth. It was during his term of offering incense in the temple that Zechariah was visited by Gabriel and told of his coming son, John, who would "go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah" to prepare the people for the Messiah.

Zechariah's doubt of the angel's words caused him to become mute for nine months, until he named his new-born son "John." At the very moment of the naming, his mouth was freed and he cried out in joy to the Lord with this beautiful song of praise.

(The Benedictus is from Luke 1:67-79, and will be our prayer for today. )

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oat he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of

the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the

shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Dec 20 - O Key of David

O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of heaven: come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.

Yesterday we heard about the flower that would shoot forth from Jesse. Today's antiphon speaks about Jesse's son, David who became the greatest king of the Chosen People. Just as David was anointed King of the people, the messiah would be anointed our Everlasting King.

Many of the Jewish people that did not accept Jesus as the messiah did so because they were expecting a military ruler in the manner of David. They were anxiously awaiting to be returned to the first place in the land they inhabited.

But our God chose to come in a different way. Not in regal splendor, but in the simplest, humblest way imaginable. He was born among farm animals, his mom and dad huddled together with sheep and donkeys and maybe a cow or two around them. He was placed in the animal's feeding trough - that was his crib.

Praised be you, Christ our King - thank you for wearing not the golden crown of David, but rather the crown of thorns - the different crown, the crown that brought salvation to all the people -- chosen or not.

Dec 19 - O Flower of Jesse's stem

O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

The Messiah to come would be born through a different lineage than most would have imagined. God would bring the Anointed One through the line of Judah.

We must remember that Judaism possesses a hereditary priesthood. The priestly line comes only from the sons of Levi (known as Levites) and the high priests must further be in the direct lineage of Aaron (known as kohains). This is the case even to this day.

(at right is shown a Jesse Tree)

But God would not call the Eternal High Priest from this sort of line -- the Messiah would come from the stump of Jesse. The Messiah would decend from the line of Judah, from the line of David.

Kinda different than what one would expect, isn't it? Just like I mentioned yesterday - this God is a different God, an unexpected God, a God that does things differently.

In the Psalter we often hear "you are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek." A better translation of the text would read "you are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." Why the distinction? Because Christ the High Priest would come not as a kohain, but in a different way.

(at left is shown the garments of the High Priest ("Kohain Gadol" in Hebrew)

Jesus isn't a Melchizedek-ian priest - he doesn't belong to the "line of Melchizedek;" rather, what God was demonstrating was that the very essence of the High Priesthood would come not through the priestly line, but in a different way - just as the non-Jewish Melchizedek offered sacrifice to our God Most High.

Thank you, God Most High - for bringing our salvation to us in unexpected ways, in mysterious ways -- in short, in different ways.

Dec 18 - O Sacred Lord

O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.

Theophany is a theological term that describes a special manifestation of God - the sort of first-person kind of encounter that Moses experienced. Today's O Antiphon harkens back to that mysterious event.

God reveals himself to us gradually over time. Just as we considered the life-breath of God, ruah, yesterday - the originating breath that began all life - today's antiphon reveals the first theophany. It also recalls the Law Giver to whom He revealed himself, and differentiates this God from all the other gods of the near middle-east.

Our God is a jealous God, our God is a singular God, our God chooses a disheveled, wandering lot as His own people. He is not like any of the gods of Egypt, or Sumer, or Assyria, or Mesopotamia or Persia or Greece. This God is so very different.

How different? We will come to see the differences over the next days as the antiphons continue.

Let our prayer this evening be one that Moses prayed himself - and let us pray it in the language he used:

Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu Adonai Echad
(Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One)
Barukh Shem k'vod malkhuto l'olam va-ed
(Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom now and forever)

Dec 17 - O Wisdom

On the 17th of December during the Liturgy of the Hours (Vespers, also called Evening Prayer) the Church begins the series of “O Antiphons” that we encounter each Advent.

On these hallowed evenings I will write a short reflection for the current antiphon.

So may not know that the hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is a musical composition of the O Antiphons.

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.

The Wisdom of God is prevalent throughout the Sacred Scriptures in many locations, including the obvious ones such as the Book of Wisdom, as well as many references to the Holy Spirit, and to the life breath of God - ruah in Hebrew. An example of ruah can be found in Genesis when God breathed his life-force into Adam.

The Greek word for wisdom is sophia - and the finest Church in the East was dedicated to Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia in the city that was formerly known as Constantinople or Byzantium, or currently Istanbul in present-day Turkey.

(Here is a photo of this marvelous Byzantine Church and architectural wonder)


Let us pray for the day when the Wisdom of Allah will inspire Muslims to return this beautiful Church back to Eastern Christians.

For that matter, let us pray each day that the Holy Spirit would fill us and direct us and guide our every activity.

On this holy evening - the Holy Spirit should be the focus and attention of our prayer, our thoughts and our movements. The day of the Messiah draws near - make straight the pathway, prepare for Him with devotion, dedication and joyful hope!