With Scripture references and paraphrases.
The Advent Antiphons in preparation for Christmas, based on Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah under various titles and figures, are found in eleventh century manuscripts. But they must be of much earlier origin; for Amalarius, a French liturgical scholar of the first half of the ninth century, added an eighth to the older seven. This, O Virgo virginum, is not on parallel lines with the others, nor is it found in the Roman Breviary, but it had place in the Sarum.
The O's are not found at all in the Ambrosian Breviary, which has an Advent of six weeks, the last Sunday being a commemoration of the Annunciation.
The Parisian Breviary (1735), of which a marked characteristic is the use of Holy Scripture in antiphons and responds, adds two to the original seven Advent Antiphons, of like nature with them, O Sancte Sanctorum, and O Pastor Israel. Thus provision is made for a complete Novena, from December 15 to 23, before Christmas Eve.
The Roman Breviary does not begin the Antiphons till December 17, but December 16 is the English date (marked in the Prayer Book Kalendar as O Sapientia), either St. Thomas's Day being otherwise provided for, or O Virgo virginum being added as an eighth.
The Antiphons were sung at Vespers before and after the Magnificat.
Dr. Neale supposes that about the twelfth century an unknown author took five of the seven Antiphons and wove them into a hymn, Veni, veni, Emmanuel; but this hymn has not been traced further back than the Psalter of Catholic Canticles published at Cologne in 1722.
The following pages give, with each Antiphon, a devotional paraphrase expanding its prayer, and references to the leading Scripture passage on which the Antiphon and its paraphrase are based.
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