The Lord is Close at Hand, Come Let Us Worship Him!

The novitiate sisters with the tree donated by Magic Fountain in Summit

So begins the Invitatory antiphon for December 17, the day which marks the real “countdown to Christmas” in the Liturgy, so to speak. Since Advent began at the end of November, we’ve been praying “Come, Lord Jesus” in many ways and forms in the liturgy, but now, the expectation is reaching a climax: the Lord is close at hand! At Vespers from now until December 23, we will sing the “O” Antiphons on which the popular hymn “O Come O Come Emmanuel” is based, beginning tonight with “O Sapientia” or “O Wisdom.” The last antiphon, “O Emmanuel,” is sung on December 23 - not December 24, as you might guess, because December 24 has its own special liturgy and Vespers is celebrated as First Vespers of Christmas.

With the Lord “close at hand,” the excitement of Christmas decorating begins today as well! Every year, the wonderful people at Magic Fountain in Summit donate us a Christmas tree. An ice-cream shop in warmer weather, they turn to Christmas trees over the winter, and have been so good to us for many years. This morning the novitiate sisters brought the tree upstairs and are now all set to start decorating. It looks and smells so good already. Now we can not only hear and sing that the Lord is close at hand, but we can smell it too! Come, Lord Jesus!

Below, you can listen to us singing the antiphon “O Sapientia.”

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, who came forth from the mouth of the Most High, mightily reaching out from end to end, and ordering all things sweetly: come to teach us the way of prudence!