Oh… the “O”s!

Every year before the liturgical camera zooms in on the manger at Bethlehem, we enjoy a panorama of images of Christ from the Old Testament prophesies which appear in the Divine Office at Vespers. These images are given to us one by one for seven days before Christmas in the Magnificat “O Antiphons”. In English, we know them as: O Wisdom, O Lord, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Morning Star, O King of the Nations, O Emmanuel.

The new “O” revealed each day is like another step in a winding stairway to heaven—the Heaven revealed to us in a tiny baby, asleep in his mother’s arms. Jesus comes down to us in order to draw us up to himself! In the midst of the busyness of the season, these powerful descriptors draw our attention to the Savior—who, in the end, is the true and everlasting joy.