O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord, The anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

With the O Antiphons concluding today, those playful 8^th century Christian monks added a twist to the prayers by having the first letters of the Latin words spell out (in reverse order) the acrostic ero cras, which translates: "tomorrow I will be," thus heralding the birth of the one who is to be called Jesus.

"Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." (Isa 7:14)

Emmanuel: God with Us. Jesus the Christ is present, here and now, dwelling within us, always present to us.  Thus the greatest present you have and the one that you can give time and time again – is the presence of the God who dwells within you, the God who loves you, the God who is Emmanuel.

 

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.