Waiting in Joyful Hope

This evening, Holy Mother Church begins her expectant wait for the coming of her Savior in the flesh by chanting the O Antiphons at Vespers.

These antiphons have been converted into the beautiful Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The antiphons invoking Our Lord go in order: Wisdom, Lord, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Dawn, King of the Nations, and Emmanuel.

In Latin, the first letter of each title spells out a hidden message: if listed backwards, they spell out “ERO CRAS”, that is, “I will come tomorrow.”