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18 December - Veni O Sapientia

Yesterday - Up - Tomorrow

17 December onward is associated with the tradition of the O Antiphons - a set of texts sung over the last days before Christmas as part of the daily worship, originally at Vespers (the evening service in Catholic tradition) to accompany the Magnificat - a canticle we'll come to hear later in the series.

Later, these antiphons have been collected into an Advent carol known more widely as "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". This is named for the last of the antiphons, but the usual English-language order places the verse at the start of the carol. Here I've used the text in the Westminster Hymnal - the first Catholic hymnal authorised for use in England and Wales.

Veni, o sapientia!
Quae hic disponis omnia.
Veni, viam prudentiae
Ut doceas et gloriae.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni Adonai!
Qui populo in Sinai
Legem dedisti vertice,
In maiestate gloriae.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni o Jesse virgula!
Ex hostis tuos ungula,
De specu tuos tartari
Educ, et antro barathri.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni clavis Davidica!
Regna reclude coelica,
Fac iter Tutum superum,
Et claude vias Inferum.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni o oriens!
Solare nos adveniens,
Noctis depelle nebulas,
Dirasque noctis tenebras.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, Veni, Rex Gentium,
Veni, Redemptor omnium,
Ut salves tuos famulos
Peccati sibi conscios.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, veni Emmanuel!
Captivum solve Israel!
Qui gemit in exilio,
Privatus Dei Filio.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
nascetur pro te, Israel.

Amen.