Ero Cras
~ On December 17, the O Antiphons began appearing at our liturgies at the gospel acclamation, helping us notice and shift into the last few days and Advent preparations for Christmas. They are not antiphons when used in that way at Mass however; they were first the antiphons to the Magnificat at Evening Prayer for each day. Each one offers a specific messianic title for the coming Christ:
December 17 — Sapentia (Wisdom)
December 18 — Adonai (Hebrew rendering of YHWH)
December 19 — Radix Jesse (Flower of Jesse’s Stem)
December 20 — Clavis David (Key of David)
December 21 — Oriens (Dawn, literally “The East”)
December 22 — Rex Gentium (King of all People)
December 23 — Emmanuel (God-with-Us)
If one takes the first letter of each Latin title, working in reverse from December 23 to 17, two Latin words emerge: ERO CRAS — which means, in English, “Tomorrow, I will be [there].” The familiar hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel is based on the O Antiphons. It is because their proper appearance in the Church’s liturgy is so late in the season that many music directors choose not to use this hymn (or others based on the O Antiphons) until the 3rd or 4th Sunday of Advent.
Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.