O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Many of you may be familiar with the Advent song, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." It is derived from the "O" antiphons* which the Catholic Church assigns to Mary's Canticle (Luke 1:46-55) during Evening Prayer (Vespers) for December 17-23. Each verse is a free translation of one of the antiphons, although they are given out of their assigned order. For example, Emmanuel, which begins the hymn, is actually the last, assigned to December 23.

The "O" antiphons are so called because they all begin with the word "O" and address the Lord Jesus using a different scripture-based title each day. They conclude by inviting him to come and save us, again expressing the request differently each day, in ways that relate to the day's title.

I thought some of you might like to see them and even pray them, so I'll try to give each one on the day assigned to it (although for readers in the Antipodes and the Orient, they may only show up on the following day).

Here's a url for the first one, together with the canticle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLq9DRs__oU&feature=related

*antiphon — a thought which is recited or sung before and after a psalm or canticle in the liturgy. It serves to give a theme or focus to the praying of the psalm or canticle.