No friend, the title is not a typo. Though, knowing my proofreading ability, that is a reasonable first guess!

While recording this month’s workshop chalk full of ideas to sample this advent, Lane Arnold mentioned the “O Anitphons.” The O Antiphons form the structure of the song, “O come, O come, Immanuel” with each verse touching on an attribute of Christ. The song has seven verses that is the focus of the last seven days of Advent. The first verse is about us and our need for Christ. The following seven verses are about Christ.

Also called “the Great Os,” they start today, December 17th, and run through December 23rd. According to the dictionary, an antiphon is “a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle.” Why the “O?” You can thank Latin for that addition.

Here are the O Antiphons and the attributes of Christ they highlight:

17 December: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)

18 December: O Adonai (O Lord)

19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)

20 December: O Clavis David (O Key of David)

21 December: O Oriens (O Dayspring)

22 December: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)

23 December: O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)

If you want to read through and even print off the lyrics, you can do so here.

And listen to it on here (with lyrics on the screen).

This is but a dipping of the toe into the O Antiphons. Isn’t it a lovely gift that this year Soul Tending Tuesday, begins the O Antiphons. Today’s focus?: O Wisdom.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain

Whether this is your first year on the field, you will have family visiting, are disappointed in the season, or have had more chances than normal to share the good news of the season, take time to let God pour into you.

Each verse in the song is enough of a nugget to feed your soul without overwhelming you the next seven days.

Let the truth of the refrain be a blessing sung over you today:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

Amen and Happy Advent.

You will find more about the O Antiphons and other nuggets for your soul in this month’s workshop. Get it today, for the Antiphons and more. This is one workshop you don’t want to miss.

Photo by David Siglin on Unsplash