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O Antiphons
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Glossary of Terms
A calendar of the twenty-four days of December leading to Christmas. It may have pockets or doors to be opened, one on each day. Behind each door or in each pocket is some symbol of the season. This may be an ornament to add to a tree on the calendar, or just a picture of a Christmas scene. The intent is to heighten the anticipation of Christmas, and add excitement to the seasonal preparations.
A wreath or ring with four candles, one for each of the four Sundays of Advent. The wreath may be made of almost any material. The candles are usually purple; in some churches, a rose or pink candle is used on the third Sunday of Advent, as a lightening of the penitential nature of the season. Each Sunday, another candle is lit to symbolize the progression of the season toward Christmas. Some Advent wreaths include a central "Christ" candle, which is lit with the other four on Christmas Eve to signify the completion of the Advent season with the birth of Jesus.
O Antiphons
Antiphons are short verses sung before and after a psalm or canticle at
one of the services of the Daily Office in monasteries. Usually these
are verses from the psalm or canticle that sum up the point of the passage,
but some are composed to illustrate the point or to comment on the liturgical
season.
The "O Antiphons, or "Great O's", are a set of seven (in some churches eight) antiphons sung before and after the Magnificat (the Song of Mary, from the Gospel of Luke) at Vespers on the evenings of the last seven (or eight) days preceding Christmas. The melody is lovely, and each antiphon calls on Jesus by a different one of his many titles to come to us and save us. The ancient hymn "O come, o come, Emmanuel" is composed of verse paraphrases of these antiphons.
History of the Hymn "O come, o come, Emmanuel"
History of the O Antiphons
Good basic history with links to several additional sources
A tall candle, usually lavishly decorated, which is blessed and lighted at the opening of the Great Vigil of Easter. It represents the light of Christ returning to the world, and burns at each service throughout the fifty days of Easter until Pentecost. It is also lighted for baptisms and funerals during other seasons.
During the blessing, the candle is inscribed with a cross, the Alpha and Omega symbols, and the year.
Then the priest inserts five wax nails into the four points and the center of the cross on the candle.
After this, the candle is carried in procession by the Deacon into the church. Three times during this procession, the Deacon says or sings, "The light of Christ," and the congregation responds, "Thanks be to God."
the beginning and the end.
Alpha and Omega.
All time belongs to him
and all the ages.
To him be glory and power
through every age and for ever. Amen.
By his holy
and gracious wounds
may Christ our Lord guard us
and keep us. Amen.
The word tenebrae is Latin for "shadows". The Service of Tenebrae is a service of Bible readings and prayers, focusing on the darkening shadows surrounding Jesus during Holy Week. The readings may vary; some tenebrae services are arranged around the shadow theme, and each reading illustrates a different kind of shadow (i.e., the shadow of betrayal, the shadow of abandonment, the shadow of death). Others use the seven last words of Jesus from the cross (compiled from the four gospels) as a meditation on Jesus' death.
Whatever the readings, candles are lit at the beginning of the service corresponding to the number of readings. As each reading is finished, another candle is extinguished and the church is gradually darkened until, after the last reading (which is always one of the gospel accounts of Jesus' death on the cross), the church is in complete darkness. A period of silence is kept, after which a loud noise is made to represent the earthquake at the time of the resurrection as it is described in Matthew's gospel, and a single lighted candle is brought back into the church, symbolizing the resurrection. There is no dismissal or blessing; the ministers and congregation leave in silence.