In my opinion, the best antiphon beside the O Antiphons (which begin tomorrow at Vespers), and I am merely echoing the informed
opinions of liturgical scholars, is the Rorate caeli (Rain down you heavens) antiphon
in the Advent season. It is the expectation of Israel seen through the eyes of the prophet Isaiah (45:8). The whole purpose of the Incarnation is spoken of here:
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds
rain the Just One.
Be not angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity:
behold the city of Thy sanctuary is become a desert, Sion is made a desert.
Jerusalem is desolate, the house of our holiness and of Thy glory, where our
fathers praised Thee.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds
rain the Just One.
We have sinned, and we are as one unclean, and we
have all fallen as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast crushed us by the hand of our
iniquity
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the
Just One.
See, O Lord, the affliction of Thy people, and send him whom thou
hast promised to send. Send forth the Lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the
rock of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Sion, that he himself may
take off the yoke of our captivity.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and
let the clouds rain the Just One.
Be comforted, be comforted, my people; thy salvation
shall speedily come. Why wilt thou waste away in sadness? why hath sorrow
seized thee? I will save thee; fear not: for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy
One of Israel, thy Redeemer.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the
clouds rain the Just One.
Leave a comment