O Emmanuel

We come to the last of the O Antiphons, for tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the great Vigil of the Nativity.

I mentioned yesterday that the O Antiphons were arranged backward into the song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. This was by design, for the Antiphons themselves are a backward acrostic.

The first letters of the Messianic titles — Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapiéntia — spell out the Latin words ero cras, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come”.

Which is pretty neat.

Original Latin:

Englished:

Merry Christmas, one and all!