O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, God with us, our King and lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their savior; come to save us, O Lord our God!

The last of the O Antiphons! Tomorrow night we will celebrate the coming of Christ in the flesh, the birth of the Child Jesus in Bethlehem more than two millennia ago. Little Bear has been "shushing" me all day as I keep starting to sing the titular verse of O Come O Come Emmanuel, but I'm cheerfully annoying my son and continuing to sing because I'm so excited. The night of the nativity is almost here! 

King, lawgiver, expected-of-nations, savior: tonight's Antiphon sums up the themes of many of the previous Antiphons, presenting a clear and mighty image of the One whose coming we await. As we hurry through these last hours of probably-too-many Christmas preparations, try to find a few moments here and there to remember the most important kind of Christmas preparation: that within your heart.

We pray that everyone has a safe, happy, and blessed Christmas! 

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!