"O" Antiphons

"O" Antiphon house...not ours...from Our Domestic Church blog...

Drew Dunigan's Ornament...

Click on photograph for enlarged view of "O Antiphon" symbols.  These are made of clay but you could also make them in the style that Drew chose that I photographed above.  Material being wooden discs as opposed to clay.  Either way would be a wonderful addition to the end of the Advent season.

Soon the penitential time of the  "O Antiphons" will be upon us!  To the right,  I found some links for the breviary  of the "O Antiphons,   one of my favorites being   the "O Antiphon" Latin chant.  The photos are ideas for making O Antiphon ornaments or O Antiphon houses.  THESE ARE NOT OURS.  We are just planning!  Last year we worked on our Jesse Tree project along with lots of other  lovely families.  This year we are working our "O Antiphon" project for more reflection during the Advent season.

If you do not have time to make the house or ornaments just a simple printing off of the Antiphons and praying each evening the breviary would be a lovely addition to the last days of Advent.  You could have your children color them, cut them out, and hang them each evening on the Christmas tree. (We've done this many times.)

The Antiphons are practiced from Decmeber 17th through December 23rd as follows (symbols highlighted in purple along with their Latin counterparts) :

The Antiphons sung to "O Come Emmanuel":

December 17
O WISDOM, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly:
COME , and teach us the way of prudence. Amen. "O Sapientia..."
December 18

O LORD AND RULER of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai:
COME , and redeem us with outstretched arms. Amen. "O Adonai..."
December 19

O ROOT OF JESSE, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication:
COME , to deliver us, and tarry not. Amen. "O Radix Jesse..."
December 20

O KEY OF DAVID, and Sceptre of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens:
COME , and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen. "O Clavis David..."
December 21

O DAWN OF THE EAST, brightness of light eternal, and Sun of Justice:
COME , and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen. "O Oriens..."
December 22

O KING OF THE GENTILES and their desired One, the Cornerstone that makes both one:
COME , and deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth. Amen. "O Rex..."
December 23

O EMMANUEL, God with us, Our King and Lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Saviour:
COME to save us, O Lord our God. Amen. "O Emmanuel..."

Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.


What is an Antiphon?

From the Marian Libary :

Michel Huglo in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives the definition of antiphon: "In Latin Christian chant generally, a liturgical chant with a prose text, sung in association with a psalm" <> ... "derived from the classical Greek antiphonis ('resonating with')": "And in later Christian texts, the term' antiphonia' was used to mean 'antiphony', or psalmody sung by two choirs, perhaps to distinguish it from responsorial psalmody, performed by a soloist." It was used in early Christianity as a type of liturgical worship, as is documented in Theodore of Mopsuestia (d 428), and even as early as Ambrose (d. 397) who wrote antiphons and hymns. (p. 472)

Antiphona generally precede short chants, with texts averaging between ten and 25 words and simple melodies. "Several categories of antiphon developed without any link with psalmody, such as the great processional antiphons of the Gregorian processional." (p. 472, Part V) Although antiphons normally have biblical texts, these four processional antiphons express instead the devotion of the people (p. 472).