O Come O Come Emmanuel – Advent Reflections
The Vicar General, Most Rev Dr David Ranson and the Diocese of Broken Bay have produced an Advent Reflections booklet for all those in the parish.
O Come O Come Emmanuel - the Christmas hymn with which we are so familiar brings to melody what in our Catholic Advent Liturgy are known as the O Antiphons.
An antiphon is another psalm that is selected for a specific day to go along with the reading for the Mass of the day.
The O antiphons are the great Magnificat antiphons used at the Church’s Evening Prayer on the last seven days of Advent. They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when the philosopher, Boethius refers to the text in his
The Consolation of Philosophy. They subsequently became one of the key musical features of the days leading up to Christmas.
Since each antiphon is short, it is helpful to spend time reading it each day, pondering it and praying it meditatively throughout the day as a way to make immediate spiritual preparation for Christmas.
The booklet can be read or downloaded
here