This evening, I listened to the final podcast of the O Antiphons leading up to Christmas. The last verse brings us right back to the one we know:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

I learned that the 7 titles for Jesus in this song are Wisdom, King of Israel, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Rising Dawn, King of the nations, and finally Emmanuel. If you look at the first letter of these names in Latin – Sapientia, Adonai, Radix, Clavis, Oriens, Rex, and Emmanuel – and reverse the order, you get the statement “Ero Cras”, which means “Tomorrow I will be there”. I loved learning about this hidden meaning. It seems that there is much that is hidden in the faith life, just waiting for us to discover it and bring us closer to God, filling us with hope and peace. Tomorrow He will be here!

I Found God in the meaning of a favorite Advent hymn.

This first photo from the Holy Family Shrine shows a portrait of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. The portrait is etched into the glass window behind the altar. Hopefully you can see it in the second photo.