Venite Prandete

  THE ‘O’ ANTIPHONS O EMMANUEL 23rd DECEMBER FAMILY CEREMONY: The family, together, say the Great Antiphon, followed by The Magnificat, and repeat the Antiphon at the close of evening prayer, or Vespers. ANTIPHON O EMMANUEL, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine Deus noster. O EMMANUEL, our King and Lawgiver, the desire of the nations and the saviour thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God. MAGNIFICAT My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour. For He hath regarded the humility of His handmaiden: For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is from generation unto generations upon them that fear Him. He hath shewed might in His arm. He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts. He hath cut down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the h...

  THE ‘O’ ANTIPHONS O REX GENTIUM 22nd DECEMBER FAMILY CEREMONY: The family, together, say the Great Antiphon, followed by The Magnificat, and repeat the Antiphon at the close of evening prayer, or Vespers. ANTIPHON O REX GENTIUM, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti. O KING OF THE GENTILES and the desire thereof, Thou cornerstone that makest both one: come and deliver mankind, whom Thou didst form out of clay. MAGNIFICAT My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour. For He hath regarded the humility of His handmaiden: For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is from generation unto generations upon them that fear Him. He hath shewed might in His arm. He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts. He hath cut down the mighty from their seat and hath ...

  THE ‘O’ ANTIPHONS O ORIENS (O RADIANT DAWN) 21st DECEMBER In Advent, we nurture the coming of the infant Jesus. He grows inside us, just as Mary guarded His being in her womb. We prepare the manger, our hearts, to receive Him with joy. The Advent Antiphon of the Little Office, and the Angelus, from the Gospel of Luke: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; Be it done unto me according to Thy Word. Our Lady is the perfect and exclusive “mould of God.” She is perfection in her great humility and faith from the Angel to the foot of the Cross. It is this faith, together with letting go of attachment to the material world, attachment to self and pride, that we must endeavour to attain through meditation on her and the qualities that she exhibited throughout. When we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we must scrutinise and examine, ponder the circumstances and qualities of each mystery; we must analyse and then, once we understand, contemplate and meditate upon her and the depth of th...

  THE ‘O’ ANTIPHONS O CLAVIS DAVID 20th DECEMBER FAMILY CEREMONY: The family, together, say the Great Antiphon, followed by The Magnificat, and repeat the Antiphon at the close of evening prayer, or Vespers. Maria Von Trapp, in her book, "Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family", (Sophia, 1955/2018), at p. 33, suggested writing the O Antiphon for the day on a piece of white cardboard, and “each day for the family meal they might be put in the centre of the table, and afterwards added to the family's prayer." ANTIPHON O CLAVIS DAVID et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit: claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis. O KEY OF DAVID and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openest and no man shutteth, and shuttest and no man openeth: come and bring the prisoner forth from the prison house and him that sitteth in darkness and in the shadow of death. MAGNIFICAT My soul doth magnify the Lord, and m...

  THE ‘O’ ANTIPHONS O RADIX JESSE 19th DECEMBER Icon of the Tree of Jesse (1) The Epistle for today provides: Thus saith the Lord God: There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears; but He shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of His loins: and faith the girdle of His reins. FAMILY CEREMONY: The family, together, say the Great Antiphon, followed by The Magnificat, and repeat the Antiphon at the close of ...

  O ADONAI THE GREAT ANTIPHON FOR FRIDAY 18th DECEMBER Each of the 'O' or Great Antiphons highlights a title for the coming Messias. Each, further, refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messias. FAMILY CEREMONY: The family, together, say the Great Antiphon, followed by The Magnificat, and repeat the Antiphon at the close of evening prayer, or Vespers. ANTIPHON O ADONAI, et dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne falmmae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redemendum nos in brachio extento. O ADONAI, and leader of the house of Israel, who didst appear to Moses in the flame of the burning bush, and didst give to him the law on Sinai: come and with an outstretched arm redeem us. MAGNIFICAT My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour. For He hath regarded the humility of His handmaiden: For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is Hi...

 THE ANTIPHON FROM ADVENT TO CANDLEMAS Marian Antiphon for the Christmas season and Advent preparation for Christmas is Alma Redemptoris Mater. They are part of Compline and are sung last thing at night as a devotion to Our Blessed Mother. ALMA REDEMPTORIS MATER Alma redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli porta manes et stella maris, Succure cadenti, surgere qui curat, populo: Tu quae genuisti, natura mirante, Tuum sanctum genitorem,  Virgo prius, ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore sumens illud ave, Peccatorum miserere. LOVING MOTHER OF THE REDEEMER Loving Mother of the Redeemer, Gate of Heaven, Star of the Sea, Assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.  To the wonderment of nature, you bore our Creator, Yet remained a virgin as before. You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting, Have pity on us poor sinners. To listen to the Antiphon sung by the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey at Ganagobie, posted by Stephan George, together with Gregorian chant notation fro...