Novena...'O' Antiphons...Oh what a Tradition we have!!!
Naturally the last days of the Christmas preparation are a great excitement...The Church has a beautiful tradition of
the Novena in preparation of this wonderful festival of LOVE...
And within this novena...
leaving out the first day and the last day...
there are 7 verses from the prophecies from the Old Testament (Isaiah)
which announce the coming of the Lord's Messiah...they are named "O" Antiphons.
each of these antiphons, so meaningful and beautiful...
We pray them as Antiphons before the Gospel at the Eucharist these days...
those who pray the daily prayer of the Church (Breviary) pray it in the evening
with the hymn of our blessed mother, the Magnificat.
16th of December begins the Novena...
on this day, the antiphon, though not an O Antiphon...
sets the tone for the next 9 days...
WE BEGIN A SPECIAL SEASON OF WAITING FOR AN IMMINENT COMING OF THE LORD