O Emmanuel
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St. Mary's Monastery
Dec 22, 2025, 4:52:44 PM12/22/25
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December 23
Since the 24th is First Vespers of Christmas, actually beginning the solemnity, today's antiphon is the last of the great O Antiphons. The Roman Church formerly made more extensive use of the Jewish custom of beginning feasts the night before, spanning sunset to sunset, but now reserves that practice for Sundays and solemnities. Too bad, in a way. First Vespers of many lesser feasts used to be a joy, and it was a further connection to our Jewish roots.
"O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expected of Nations and their Savior: come, and save us, O Lord our God!"
Emmanuel - God with us - this was a radical fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies which the Jews had never dreamed would happen: a divine Messiah. Though the promises all refer to and fit Jesus, the Messiah expected by the Israelites was not divine. To their reasoning, none could be literally divine, really the Son of God. Their expectation of a saving ruler did not assume that God would share His very nature and essence with the Anointed One.
Emmanuel reflects an entirely Christian and entirely new theology, one of Incarnation and an immanence hitherto unknown. God with us, sharing every hardship of humanity but sin in His own flesh, dwelling not in a Temple spiritually, but as flesh and blood among humanity, wishing to remain with us until the end of time. This is a dramatic contrast to the affection, yet distance with which the Lord was regarded in the Old Testament.
Emmanuel- God with us- it finally springs the liturgical construct of "waiting" all these weeks and admits that we knew He was there all along. Advent has that flavor, of a pretended waiting for Him Whom we know to have already arrived. We place ourselves in the shoes of those who had Him not in order to better appreciate Him Whom we have had all along.
We hail Christ as King and Lawgiver (Isaiah 32:22,) and echo the dying words of Jacob in Gen. 49:10, " The scepter will not pass from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, till He comes that is to be sent. He is the expectation of the nations." We ask Him to save us. The Latin "Salva", the imperative form of "to save," is related to "salus", health, wholeness. We are asking for a holistic well-being of mind, soul and body when we thus ask to be saved. We are, in fact, asking to finally be made perfect, fully whole and sound, something only God can do!
Lastly, we no longer beat around the bush, (burning or otherwise!) We come right out and directly call Jesus "our Lord and our God." It is the crowning acclamation of faith to a long season of expectation.
A blessed late Advent and Christmas to you all. I have enjoyed sharing these with you because I truly feel they are the best poetry left in the liturgy of the West, even beating out the now pared-down Exultet at Easter!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
December 23
Since the 24th is First Vespers of Christmas, actually beginning the solemnity, today's antiphon is the last of the great O Antiphons. The Roman Church formerly made more extensive use of the Jewish custom of beginning feasts the night before, spanning sunset to sunset, but now reserves that practice for Sundays and solemnities. Too bad, in a way. First Vespers of many lesser feasts used to be a joy, and it was a further connection to our Jewish roots.
"O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expected of Nations and their Savior: come, and save us, O Lord our God!"
Emmanuel - God with us - this was a radical fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies which the Jews had never dreamed would happen: a divine Messiah. Though the promises all refer to and fit Jesus, the Messiah expected by the Israelites was not divine. To their reasoning, none could be literally divine, really the Son of God. Their expectation of a saving ruler did not assume that God would share His very nature and essence with the Anointed One.
Emmanuel reflects an entirely Christian and entirely new theology, one of Incarnation and an immanence hitherto unknown. God with us, sharing every hardship of humanity but sin in His own flesh, dwelling not in a Temple spiritually, but as flesh and blood among humanity, wishing to remain with us until the end of time. This is a dramatic contrast to the affection, yet distance with which the Lord was regarded in the Old Testament.
Emmanuel- God with us- it finally springs the liturgical construct of "waiting" all these weeks and admits that we knew He was there all along. Advent has that flavor, of a pretended waiting for Him Whom we know to have already arrived. We place ourselves in the shoes of those who had Him not in order to better appreciate Him Whom we have had all along.
We hail Christ as King and Lawgiver (Isaiah 32:22,) and echo the dying words of Jacob in Gen. 49:10, " The scepter will not pass from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, till He comes that is to be sent. He is the expectation of the nations." We ask Him to save us. The Latin "Salva", the imperative form of "to save," is related to "salus", health, wholeness. We are asking for a holistic well-being of mind, soul and body when we thus ask to be saved. We are, in fact, asking to finally be made perfect, fully whole and sound, something only God can do!
Lastly, we no longer beat around the bush, (burning or otherwise!) We come right out and directly call Jesus "our Lord and our God." It is the crowning acclamation of faith to a long season of expectation.
A blessed late Advent and Christmas to you all. I have enjoyed sharing these with you because I truly feel they are the best poetry left in the liturgy of the West, even beating out the now pared-down Exultet at Easter!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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