Advent

THE O ANTIPHONS and the Beatles: Great Secrets Revealed?

December 16, 2012 By Kathy Schiffer 2 Comments

First, I mean no disrespect—but if you are a theologian or a historian or a liturgist, please pop in here to explain something for me.

I’ve been reading about the O ANTIPHONS, those profound anticipatory verses from Isaiah which, in the Catholic tradition, are read at Vespers from December 17 through December 23, leading up to the Christmas season. Lovely prayers, most certainly! But over and over in the literature, as an after-note, I read that the first letters of the seven Antiphons, when read in reverse, convey a secret message.

I first read about this great secret on Wikipedia, but it pops up on other, more scholarly sites as well. Apparently, the finding originated with Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Professor Greenberg noted that if one starts with the last title and, reading them in reverse, takes the first letter of each, one will see the Latin words “ero cras,” meaning “Tomorrow, I will come.” Greenberg believes that as we prepare for Christ’s coming in Advent, and as we pray the seven Messianic titles of the O Antiphons, the Lord Jesus now speaks to us.

HUH? So what you’re saying, Dr. Greenberg, is that the Holy Spirit inspired the prophet to write in Hebrew, or whatever language was used for that part of the Bible, using words which—when translated into Latin, then read backwards—would spell a secret message? That this would happen years later, after the Catholic Church had established its locus in Rome and when the words of Scripture were published in the vernacular of the time, Latin?

I dunno. This isn’t a doctrine which has been declared infallible, right? Because myself, I’m just not buying it.

* * * * *

ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER SECRET EXPOSED—Excuse me if I am wary of such pronouncements. See, I remember the frenzy when, on a Saturday afternoon in 1969, Russ Gibb, DJ on Detroit’s WKNR (Keener) radio, got a call from an EMU student who claimed that the Beatles song “Revolution 9,” when played backwards, says “Turn me on, dead man.” And at the end of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” according to the same student, a muffled voice says “I buried Paul.”

So started the rumor, buttressed by another and yet another cryptic message, that Paul McCartney had died in a 1966 motorcycle accident. The pièce de résistance: On the cover of “Abbey Road,” the four Beatles are crossing the street, and Paul is walking barefoot. “SEE!” cry the conspiracy theorists. “Paul is barefoot, and people in coffins are barefoot! People aren’t buried with their shoes on!” (I still don’t know whether or not that’s true, so maybe funeral directors can also pop in to opine about this difficult issue.)

AND THEN THERE’S THE BIBLE CODE! That book was flying off store shelves in 1997. People wanted to see the secret messages revealed in the Bible. Using the Equidistant Letter Sequence method, a group of scholars had three years earlier claimed to find cryptic messages on the pages of scripture; and in 1997, journalist Michael Drosnin released their findings in a best-selling book. Problems abound within the theory itself; but scientific method aside, the “secret code” again relies on a specific printing of a specific version of the Bible (the King James), or else the letters won’t fall into the correct order. I think by this time, everyone except a few Oprah! fans have recognized the flaws in the theory and have moved on.

* * * * *

So back to the O Antiphons. They are beautiful prayers, rich with expectancy, with anticipation of the coming Christ, and they are well worth our attention in these days leading up to our celebration of His birth. The Antiphons refer to Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah, pointing to the coming King.

But the “secret message”? You can decide for yourself. In order of their appearance in the prayers for each day, the O Antiphons are as follows:

O SAPIENTIA: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.”
O ADONAI: “O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: Come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.”
O RADIX JESSE: “O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.”
O CLAVIS DAVID: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.”
O ORIENS: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.”
O REX GENTIUM: “O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned form the dust.”
O EMMANUEL: “O Emmanuel*, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.”

*Remember that Emmanuel means “God with us.” And so He is.

Enjoy this last week of Advent.

Filed Under: Advent, Christmas, Faith, Prayer Tagged With: Advent, Christmas, Prayer 2 Comments

I LOVE THE PINK CANDLE! The Significance of Gaudete Sunday

December 15, 2012 By Kathy Schiffer 2 Comments

How often a good idea finds expression in the rich liturgy and tradition of the Church!

GAUDETE SUNDAY is a case in point. The word gaudete (pronounced gow dĕ’ tā)—Latin for “rejoice”—is actually the first word of the Introit (Entrance antiphon) of the Mass for that day. And rejoice, we do!

But first, about ADVENT: The word means “coming” or “arrival”; and during the four weeks of Advent, we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas. The air is rife with expectation, anticipation, longing. Readings at Mass during the weeks of Advent focus on this coming as a Babe in Bethlehem, but also on the Parousia, the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time.

With all this emphasis on “preparing,” we try to be holier, more ready. Advent is a penitential season; and so the color of vestments during that time is purple, the color of royalty (for the coming King) and of penitence.

On Gaudete Sunday, though, we cast aside our penitential garment. Music is joyful and the organ, which may have been silenced during the first weeks of Advent, may be used. The priests wears rose-colored vestments, if they are available (although since they can be worn only twice during the year, on Gaudete Sunday and on Laetare Sunday in Lent, many parishes skip this expenditure). We light the third candle, the pink candle and rejoice at the nearness of Christ.

* * * * *

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak,

Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared;

Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe.

Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.

–Isaiah 35

Filed Under: Advent, Catholic, Mass Tagged With: Advent, Catholic, Mass 2 Comments

THE GARGOYLE AND THE STEEPLE: On the Outside, Looking In

December 4, 2010 By Kathy Schiffer Leave a Comment

Look up, look around.

That’s what we do, really, we Christians, during this Advent season. We look up to our heavenly Father, and to the Son Who came to us in Bethlehem as a tiny baby, and Who comes to us still today. And we look around at the world in which we live—at the still, expectant winter nights, rich with promise; and at the people whose love shapes us, and who we celebrate later this month with gifts from the heart.

Malcolm Muggeridge, the British journalist and satirist, wrote of this two-directional focus, comparing it to the steeple and the gargoyle which top a great cathedral.

“The steeple,” he asserted, “is this beautiful thing reaching up into the sky admitting, as it were, its own inadequacy.” The steeple attempts something utterly impossible—to climb up to heaven.

The gargoyle, meanwhile, looks down, grinning and laughing at the absurd behavior, the vain strivings, of men on earth.

Both of these structures—one aspiring to the heavens, and one drawn inexorably toward mankind here at ground level—are integral to the design of the cathedral; hence, both are intended for the glory of God.

Muggeridge saw, in the analogy of the steeple and the gargoyle, his own life in a mirror. An avowed atheist for most of his life, he examined religion and faith with the eyes of a journalist, from the outside—looking down, like the gargoyle, without venturing in to meet the faithful on their own terms.

Although he did finally come to the Catholic Faith in his later years, the steeple and the gargoyle exemplified his own life, and the great gulf he found between his heavenly vision and his earthly attainment. He tried to be faithful to the reality of Christ; but like the rest of us, Muggeridge was a sinner whose attempts fell short. He needed the Babe of Bethlehem.

* * * * *

If you ever visit Rome, you may want to drive up to the Priory of the Knights of Malta, situated on the Aventine Hill, on the left side of the Tiber River near the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See. The Knights of Malta maintain a private garden which is protected by a massive wooden gate; and in that gate is a keyhole which has become known as the “Magic Keyhole.” Through the Magic Keyhole one can see into the garden, where a long gravel path runs between two rows of carefully pruned hedges. Beyond the hedges one can gaze across the hillside, across tops of buildings, until—several miles away—there lies the great Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, perfectly centered in view. It looks like an artist’s impressionistic image, or perhaps like a well-framed souvenir postcard.

Malcolm Muggeridge might have smiled at this mysterious image, echoing his “gargoyle on the steeple.” From the Aventine Hill you can see the Vatican, the locus of the Catholic Church; but you can’t go in, you can’t approach and join in the prayer and adoration which are ongoing there.

I have a friend who speaks of the “Christmas and Easter Catholics”—those people who count themselves among the faithful, but whose absence through eleven months of the year belies any real interest in encountering the living Christ in the Eucharist, which occurs inside their local church each Sunday morning.

Advent is an excellent time to change all that. You’ve been busy—but He’s been waiting. Come home.

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If you are a Catholic who has been away for a while, or if you are interested in learning more about the Catholic faith, I encourage you to check out Catholics Come Home, a website designed to help you begin or continue your faith journey so you can find true peace, happiness and purpose in life. Go to www.catholicscomehome.org.