O Adonai

Today is the second “O” antiphon, O Adonai. It is taken from Exodus 3:2 and Isaiah 11:3-5; with echoes and references to Isaiah 63:11-12, Micah 6:4, and Acts 7:30-31.

For a reflection on this antiphon, we will turn to that great liturgical commentator, Servant of God Dom Prosper Guéranger, Abbot of Solesmes (d. 1875).

O Sovereign Lord! O Adonaï! come and redeem us, not by thy power, but by thy humility. Heretofore, thou didst show thyself to Moses thy servant in the midst of a mysterious flame; thou didst give thy law to thy people amidst thunder and lightning; now, on the contrary, thou comest not to terrify, but to save us.

Thy chaste Mother having heard the Emperor’s edict, which obliges her and Joseph her Spouse to repair to Bethlehem, she prepares everything needed for thy divine Birth. She prepares for thee, O Sun of Justice! the humble swathing-bands, wherewith to cover thy nakedness, and protect thee, the Creator of the world, from the cold of that mid-night hour of thy Nativity!

Thus it is that thou willest to deliver us from the slavery of our pride, and show man that thy divine arm is never stronger than when he thinks it powerless and still. Everything is prepared, then, dear Jesus! thy swathing-bands are ready for thy infant limbs! Come to Bethlehem, and redeem us from the hands of our enemies.

(The Liturgical Year, Dom Guéranger)

These videos, which I will be embedding each day until Christmas, were recorded by the Gloriae Dei Cantores.

Original Latin:

Englished: