In 1223, (800 years ago this year!), St. Francis celebrated Christmas in a little Italian town called Greccio. To help people visualize the simplicity, poverty, and humility surrounding Jesus’ birth, he gathered the people in a cave, brought in a manger, some animals, hay, and a baby. He wanted the people to see and smell and feel the gift that God had given in Jesus.
Since the 6ixth century, it has been the custom of the church to pray what have been called the “O Antiphons” from December 17-23, to help prepare for Christmas. The O Antiphons, which celebrate seven titles of Jesus, are used at Evening Prayer and as the Gospel acclamation at mass during those days. They are the inspiration of the song O Come O Come Emmanuel. Here they are in English and Latin:
O Wisdom (Sapentia) (December 17)
O Lord of Israel (Adonai) (December 18)
O Root of Jesse (Radix) (December 19)
O Key of David (Clavis) (December 20)
O Rising Dawn (Oriens) (December 21)
O King of Nations (Rex) (December 22)
O Emmanuel, God with us, (Emmanuel) (December 23)
They were listed in this fashion, so that when read from the bottom (on December 24), using the first letter of the Latin, you see the message ERO CRAS, which means “Tomorrow I come.”
We invite you to remember this 800th anniversary and the Christmas custom by praying this following prayer each day in your home, with your family. The service can be adapted in any way you like, and is based on a prayer service composed by Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.
First, there is the background of a starry sky wrapped in the darkness and silence of night. Think now of all those times in our lives when we have experienced the darkness of night. Yet even then, God does not abandon us, but is there to answer our crucial questions about the meaning of life. Who am I? Where do I come from? Why was I born at this time in history? Why do I love? Why do I suffer? Why will I die? It was to answer these questions that God became human. His closeness brings light where there is darkness and shows the way to those dwelling in the shadow of suffering (cf. Lk 1:79). In God’s Wisdom, a star is given for us to follow and in doing so we find the shining light of answers to the questions in the darkness of our hearts. The angels and the guiding star are a sign that we too are called to set out for the cave and to worship the Lord. (From Pope Francis)
Place The Star and the Angel in your Nativity
Light one candle
Sing:
O come O Wisdom from on high Who orders all things mightily To us the path of knowledge show And teach us in your ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel
As silence and careful listening disappear, replaced by a frenzy of texting, this basic structure of wise human communication is at risk. A new lifestyle is emerging, where we create only what we want and exclude all that we cannot control or know instantly and superficially. This process, by its intrinsic logic, blocks the kind of serene reflection that could lead us to a shared wisdom. (From Pope Francis)
December 18 – O Lord of Israel (Adonai)
On 25 December 1223, Saint Francis of Assisi and his friars came to Greccio from various parts, together with people from the farmsteads in the area, who brought flowers and torches to light up that holy night. When Francis arrived, he found a manger full of hay, an ox and a donkey. All those present experienced a new and indescribable joy in the presence of the Christmas scene. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, showing the bond between the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist. At Greccio there were no statues; the nativity scene was enacted and experienced by all who were present. This is how our tradition began: with everyone gathered in joy around the cave, to worship the Lord with no distance between the original event and those sharing in its mystery. (From Pope Francis)
Place the Hay and Animals in Your Nativity
Light two candles
Sing:
O come, O Come great Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height In ancient times did give the law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel.
Francis of Assisi helps us to see that an integral ecology calls for openness to categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and take us to the heart of what it is to be human. Just as happens when we fall in love with someone, whenever he would gaze at the sun, the moon or the smallest of animals, he burst into song, drawing all other creatures into his praise. He communed with all creation, even preaching to the flowers, inviting them “to praise the Lord, just as if they were endowed with reason”. His response to the world around him was so much more than intellectual appreciation or economic calculus, for to him each and every creature was a sister united to him by bonds of affection. (From Pope Francis)
December 19 – O Root of Jesse (Radix)
It is customary to add many symbolic figures to our nativity scenes. First, there are the beggars and the others who know only the wealth of the heart. They too have every right to draw near to the Infant Jesus; no one can evict them or send them away from a crib so makeshift that the poor seem entirely at home. Indeed, the poor are a privileged part of this mystery; often they are the first to recognize God’s presence in our midst. The presence of the poor and the lowly in the nativity scene remind us that God became human for the sake of those who feel most in need of his love and who ask him to draw near to them. Jesus, “gentle and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29), was born in poverty and led a simple life in order to teach us to recognize what is essential and to act accordingly. By being born in a manger, God launches the only true revolution that can give hope and dignityto the disinherited and the outcast: the revolution of love, the revolution of tenderness. From the manger, Jesus proclaims, in a meek yet powerful way, the need for sharing with the poor as the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalized. (From Pope Francis)
Place Figures of the Poor and Villagers in your Nativity
Light three candles
Sing:
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree, An ensign of your people be; Before Your rulers silent fall; All people on your mercy call. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel.
I invite everyone to renewed hope, for hope speaks to us of something deeply rooted in every human heart, independently of our circumstances and historical conditioning. Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfillment, a desire to achieve great things, things that fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love… Hope is bold; it can look beyond personal convenience, the petty securities and compensations which limit our horizon, and it can open us up to grand ideals that make life more beautiful and worthwhile. Let us continue, then, to advance along the paths of hope. (From Pope Francis)
December 20 – A Key of David (Clavis)
Gradually, we come to the cave, where we find the figures of Mary and Joseph who had traveled to Bethlehem to be enrolled in the census, because they were of the House of David. Mary is a mother who contemplates her child and shows him to every visitor. The figure of Mary makes us reflect on the great mystery that surrounded this young woman when God knocked on the door of her heart. Mary responded to the message of the angel, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), showing all of us how to abandon ourselves in faith to God’s will. At Mary’s side, shown protecting the child and his mother, stands Saint Joseph, who tirelessly protects his family. When God warned him of Herod’s threat, he did not hesitate to set out and flee to Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-15). Once the danger had passed, he brought the family back to Nazareth, where he was to be the first teacher of Jesus as a boy and then as a young man. (From Pope Francis)
Place Figures of Mary and Jospeh in your Nativity
Light 4 candles
Sing:
O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel.
I would like to presentSaint Joseph to you asa persecuted and courageous migrant. This is how the Evangelist Matthew describes him. This particular event in the life of Jesus, which also involves Joseph and Mary as protagonists, is traditionally known as “the flight into Egypt” (cf. Mt 2:13-23). The family of Nazareth suffered such humiliation and experienced first-hand the precariousness, fear and pain of having to leave their homeland. Still today many of our brothers and sisters are forced to experience the same injustice and suffering. The cause is almost always the arrogance and violence of the powerful. This was also the case for Jesus… Let us think of Jesus in the arms of Joseph and Mary, fleeing, and let us see in him each one of the migrants of today. Migration today is a reality to which we cannot close our eyes. (From Pope Francis)
December 21 – O Rising Dawn (Oriens)
In the Christmas Shepherd’s Mass celebrated in the rising dawn, we hear the exclamation, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us” (Lk 2:15). So the shepherds tell one another after the proclamation of the angels. A beautiful lesson emerges from these simple words. Unlike so many other people, busy about many things, the shepherds become the first to see the most essential thing of all: the gift of salvation. It is the humble and the poor who greet the event of the Incarnation. The shepherds respond to God who comes to meet us in the Infant Jesus by setting out to meet him with love, gratitude and awe. Thanks to Jesus, this encounter between God and his children gives birth to our religion and accounts for its unique beauty, so wonderfully evident in the nativity scene. (From Pope Francis)
Place the Figures of the Shepherds into your Nativity
Light 5 candles
Sing:
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel.
The Church’s closeness to Jesus [the Dawn from on High who guides our feet into the way of peace] is part of a common journey; “communion and mission are profoundly interconnected”. In fidelity to the example of the Master, it is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded. That is what the angel proclaimed to the shepherds in Bethlehem: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people (Lk 2:10). To understand this reality, we need to approach it with the gaze of the Good Shepherd, who seeks not to judge but to love. (From Pope Francis)
December 22 – O King of Israel (Rex)
Observing the star, those wise men from the East set out for Bethlehem, in order to find Jesus and to offer him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These costly gifts have an allegorical meaning: gold honors Jesus’ kingship, incense his divinity, myrrh his sacred humanity that was to experience death and burial. The Magi teach us that people can come to Christ by a very long route. Men of wealth, sages from afar, athirst for the infinite, they set out on the long and perilous journey that would lead them to Bethlehem (cf. Mt 2:1-12). Great joy comes over them in the presence of the Infant King. They are not scandalized by the poor surroundings, but immediately fall to their knees to worship him. Kneeling before him, they understand that the God who with sovereign wisdom guides the course of the stars also guides the course of history, casting down the mighty and raising up the lowly. (From Pope Francis)
Place Figures of the Kings into your Nativity
Light 6 candles
Sing
O come, Desire of nations, bind, In one the hearts of all humankind; Bid thou our sad divisions cease And be thyself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel.
For the Church, the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political or philosophical one. God shows the poor “his first mercy”. This divine preference has consequences for the faith life of all Christians, since we are called to have “this mind… which was in Jesus Christ” (Phil 2:5). Inspired by this, the Church has made an option for the poor which is understood as a “special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness… implicit in our Christian faith in a God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty”. This is why I want a Church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us.
December 23 – O Emmanuel (Emmanuel)
When, at Christmas, we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, the nativity scene suddenly comes alive. God appears as a child, for us to take into our arms. Beneath weakness and frailty, he conceals his power that creates and transforms all things. It seems impossible, yet it is true: in Jesus, God was a child, and in this way, God wished to reveal the greatness of his love: by smiling and opening His arms to all. The birth of a child awakens joy and wonder; it sets before us the great mystery of life. Seeing the bright eyes of a young couple gazing at their newborn child, we can understand the feelings of Mary and Joseph who, as they looked at the Infant Jesus, sensed God’s presence in their lives. God’s ways are astonishing, for it seems impossible that he should forsake his glory to become a human like us. To our astonishment, we see God acting exactly as we do: he sleeps, takes milk from his mother, cries and plays like every other child! As always, God baffles us. He is unpredictable, constantly doing what we least expect. The nativity scene shows God as he came into our world, but it also makes us reflect on how our life is part of God’s own life. It invites us to become his disciples if we want to attain ultimate meaning in life. (From Pope Francis)
Place the Figure of Jeus into your Nativity
Light 7 candles
Sing:
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 you O Israel.
I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. (From Pope Francis)
December 24 – Christmas Eve
800 years ago, Saint Francis invited the people of Greccio to wander into a living nativity scene. In the same spirit we are called to enter our nativity scenes today. Making ourselves a part of the unfolding drama, we create a space to sing the song that the Christ Child has brought to birth in each of our hearts, as we worship our God, who became one like us that we might become like God and live forever.
The family nativity scene can be “a living Gospel rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture” in your home. Joseph may have a poorly painted beard and Mary may continues to kneel beside the cradle, praying with bright red lips. When the house is quiet, under the twinkling lights of the tree, sit within the manger.
May the “O Antiphons” become a part of your Christmas tradition. In time you may even come to imagine yourself holding the babe, while soothing Him with a song, “O Come, O Come…”
Then, within your heart, may you hear Him whisper back, “ERO CRAS, I am coming tomorrow.” (From Michael Laskey, OFM Conv.)
Contemplate Your Nativity
Light a Christmas Candle
Sing:
O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in the dark street shineth The everlasting Light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight
