Advent 2025: A Season of Longing and Listening
The Fourth Week of Advent: The Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son!
Advent: A Season of Expectant Hope
The fourth Sunday of Advent is also known as Rorate Sunday. The name is derived from the Introit or opening chant for the Eucharist that day: Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justum: aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem. This chant is based on Isaiah 45:8 and freely translates as “Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the just one; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior.”
This fervent prayer emphasizes that we are getting closer to Christmas and our prayer for the arrival of our Savior intensifies.
The O-Antiphons
The so-called O-antiphons are important to the celebration of Advent. These seven ancient, poetic prayers are sung during the final days leading up to Christmas Eve from December 17 through December 23. Each one of these antiphons begins with “O,” hence the O-antiphons. Each antiphon elucidates a title for Jesus, borrowed from the Hebrew Scriptures thus affirming Jesus as the fulfilment of ancient prophesies. On the 23rd of December, after all antiphons have been sung, the first letters of these antiphons read backward spell the Latin “Ero Cras” or “tomorrow I will come.” The popular Advent hymn, O Come Immanuel is based on these antiphons.
As we continue to prepare for the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord it may be helpful to meditate on these antiphons as part of our daily prayer.
December 17: O Sapientia…
O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!
December 18: O Adonai…
O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
December 19: O Radix Jesse…
O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!
December 20: O Clavis David…
O Key of David,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!
December 21: O Oriens…
O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness
and in the shadow of death.
December 22: O Rex Gentium…
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save us, whom you formed from the dust!
December 23: O Emmanuel…
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!
What to do in the Domestic Church:
A Blessing for the Lighting of the Fourth Candle
After someone in the family has lit the first and second candle on the Advent Wreath the prayer begins with the sign of the cross and continues as follows:
Leader: Today we begin the fourth and last Week of Advent.
We open our hearts to God’s love
as we prepare to welcome Christ.
The candles of this wreath remind us that
Jesus Christ came to conquer the darkness of sin
and to lead us into his glorious light.
Let us pray that we may always be ready to welcome him.
Leader: You came as the Child of Bethlehem
to gather the little and the lowly:
Lord, come and save us.
All: Lord, come and save us.
Leader: You come as the Child of Mary
to be Emmanuel, God-with-us:
Lord, come and save us.
All: Lord, come and save us.
Priest: You will come as the Son of Justice
to bring Creation to the fullness of its salvation:
Lord, come and save us.
All: Lord, come and save us.
Leader: Let us pray:
Ever-living God, we praise you for this fragrant wheel of time
that marks our days of preparation
for the Advent of your Christ.
As we light the fourth and last candle of this wreath,
open our eyes to see your face,
open our ears to hear your voice,
open our hands to touch your presence in the lowly ones
of this earth.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
The leader ends with the sign of the cross.
Preparing for Sunday Eucharist by Reading the Gospel (Matt. 1:18-24)
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
Preparing for Sunday Eucharist by Meditating on the Gospel
- What does Joseph’s plan to divorce Mary quietly reveal about his character?
- How might Mary have felt during this time, and what does the text tell us about her obedience?
- Why is the virgin birth essential to Jesus’ identity and mission?
- How does the angel’s message fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy (Matt 1:22-23)?
- How can Jesus be both “God with us” (Immanuel) and our Savior (Jesus) in our lives?
- How can we, like Joseph, obey God even when it’s difficult or goes against our initial plans?
- How does the promise of “God with us” (Immanuel) change how we deal with challenges that come our way?