Today’s and the final O antiphon of the Octave cycle, recited on December 23rd is called “O Emmanuel”.
Latin:
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.
English:
O Emmanuel, King and lawgiver for us,
the hope of the people and Saviour of them:
Come to our salvation, Lord, our God.
Today’s antiphon, recited on December 22nd is called “O Rex Gentium”.
Latin:
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.
English:
O King of the people, and the desire of them,
And stone of the corner, who makes multiples one
Come and save men,
Whom from clay you formed.
Today’s antiphon, recited on December 21st is called “O Oriens”.
Latin:
O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
English:
O Rising Sun,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
Today’s antiphon, recited on December 20th, is called “O Clavix”.
Latin:
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,|
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
English:
O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
who opens, and no one shuts;
who shuts, and no one opens:
Come and lead out the restrained from the house of prison|
those dwelling in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Today’s antiphon, recited on December 19th, is called “O Radix”.
Latin:
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
English:
Oh root of Jesse, who stands as a sign for the people
over whom kings hold their speech
whom the people entreat earnestly
come to our salvation, for nothing delay.
Today’s antiphon, recited on December 18th, is called “O Adonai”.
Latin
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
English
O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who to Moses in the flames of the burning bush appeared,
and to him in Sinai the law provided:
Come and redeem us with with arms outstretched
Today’s antiphon, recited on December 17th, is called “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.
Oh wisdom, who out of the mouth of the Most High comes,
reaching from this end to the end,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
come and teach our ways of prudence Continue reading
As a very dear friend of mine just posted yesterday’s “O Antiphon“, he asked me to do the daily translation of each as they get posted. Hence, for those that are unfamiliar with antiphons and the “O Antiphons” in particular, I’ll try to provide a little background.
An antiphon is a short prayer recited before the “Magnificat“. The Magnificat is Mary’s praise hymn, directly taken from Luke 1:46-55 , which, depending on the denomination, is recited either during the Vespers or during the Matins. Continue reading
It’s that time of year again. The dreaded Halloween period !
Many blogs out there have ramped up the discussions on whether we should participate or not. Most notably Michael Patton from Reclaiming the Mind is stirring the pot (again). And Joe Carter on First Things gives us some ideas on which tracts not to hand out. And as you can tell by the quick and swift reactions on Reclaiming the Mind, both pro and con, this is remaining a controversial issue amongst Christians. And it has been so for many, many centuries.
So for your pleasure, I decided to provide a little perspective, some history (although mostly anecdotal based on personal experiences) and cultural differences about this holiday. There are many better works and articles out there if you like more research on the topic, but perhaps this can be somewhat helpful.
Several recent articles in the blogosphere have relit the controversial debates surrounding Calvinism vs Arminianism. And as we all know this discussion has been a centuries old one which has led to many different factions in the Protestant Church.
What gave rise this time, was Dr. Olson’s call late September for all of us to admit our Theologies are flawed. Which led to some animated discussions and Dr. Olson’s further explanations in several posts (1,2) as to what he, as an Arminian, perceives to be the challenge with Calvinist theology. But for all clarity, he also admitted the flaws he can see in the Arminian approach:
Let me step out and dare to name a problem with Arminian theology and then challenge a committed Calvinist to do the same. One thing I wrestle with about Arminianism is the mystery of free will. I don’t know how it works. There does seem to be an element of uncaused effect in it. (I don’t think that’s a contradiction, but it is a mystery.) And I’m not sure how God foreknows with absolute certainty libertarianly free decisions that haven’t been made yet. That does seem to be a mystery and therefore a problem insofar as I would very much like to have an answer for it but don’t. These elements of classical Arminianism cause me some cognitive dissonance
Note how he puts it forth as a dare. Michael Patton, of Reclaiming the Mind ministries and for whom I have a tremendous amount of respect, took Dr. Olson up on the dare and admitted that:
As a Calvinist, I find it very difficult to understand why God did not choose everyone. All explainations that are given in my camp are terrible. I am not saying that they are necessarily wrong (I don’t know), but they are completely unsatisfying. There is simply no problem with unconditional election of all people. The problem is when God, who loves all people, only elects some.
And just as Dr Olson continued to explain his further challenges with Calvinism, Michael explained his challenges with Arminianism.
So far, the background. And why does it matter ? Why do we care ?
