The O Antiphons:
19 DecemberO Radix Jesse
ENGLISH: O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of
the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles
shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.
Listen to this chant from the Liber Usualis: mp3
Scripture References: Relevant verse of Veni, Veni Emmanuel: O come, O Rod of Jesse free, The version from the Dominican antiphonarium: REFLECTION: (ENGLISH: O Root
of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings
keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to
deliver us, and tarry not.) O Antiphons: 19 December - O
Jesse Radix (ENGLISH: O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign
of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the
Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.) What urgency there is this
antiphon. Something that lies below the earth - a root - sends out through a cloven stump, shorn to the ground, a shoot which stretches high unto
the heavens like a banner! Vexilia Regis Prodeunt we sing in
Lent. What is a little root during Advent becomes by Lent the Tree of
our salvation. Isaiah 11:10 gives us imagery for our reflection
today. The great prophet of Advent tells us that the kingdom of David
would be destroyed, but not entirely destroyed. A root would remain. Jesse
is David's father. David is the shoot from Jesse's root. David shoots through the generations to Christ. After
destruction there remains a root. No matter what the exigencies of
life present to us or how turbulent the vicissitudes of the passing world
may be, when we cling to the root we are sure to be victorious in the end.
Isaiah 11:10
Romans 15:12
Revelation 5:5
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
