THE ‘O’ ANTIPHONS
O ORIENS (O RADIANT DAWN)

In Advent, we nurture the coming of the infant Jesus. He grows inside us, just as Mary guarded His being in her womb. We prepare the manger, our hearts, to receive Him with joy.

The Advent Antiphon of the Little Office, and the Angelus, from the Gospel of Luke:

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.”

Our Lady is the perfect and exclusive “mould of God.” She is perfection in her great humility and faith from the Angel to the foot of the Cross. It is this faith, together with letting go of attachment to the material world, attachment to self and pride, that we must endeavour to attain through meditation on her and the qualities that she exhibited throughout. When we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we must scrutinise and examine…