The 'O' Antiphons
The ‘O’ Antiphons
Beginning on the 17 December of each Advent season, and for the next seven days, a special antiphon known as an O Antiphon is read before the Magnificat during Evening Prayer. Sometimes called the Greater Antiphons, or the O’s of Advent (because they begin with that exclamation), the O Antiphons differ from the daily antiphons because they herald the coming birth of Christ. Originally written in Latin around the seventh or eighth centuries, these special antiphons express humanity’s desire and longing for God, a longing which has existed throughout the history of God’s people, from the beginning of time through Abraham, Moses and David, and fulfilled on the night when Emmanuel (God with us) was born. Each prayer begins with one of the seven titles attributed to Jesus’ Old Testament title for the Messiah.
More News
Divine Mercy Sunday
Celebrating God's Merciful Love
In the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed that from that year forward the 2nd Sunday of...Read more
World Youth Day Lisbon 2023
World Youth Day will next take place in Lisbon in 2023. The Department for Adult Education and Evangelisation is organising an eight-day pilgrimage from...Read more
Cardinal Tagle: sorrow for attack on Caritas Mariupol, time to put end to violence
The President of Caritas Internationalis decries the violence and expresses sorrow for the death of two Ukrainian Caritas workers and five family of their...Read more