O Come Emmanuel (God Is With Us)

The final days of anticipation have arrived and are marked by the “O Antiphons” – a seven-day series of short chants expressing the hopes for a Messiah as written about in the Old Testament. Read more about the “O Antiphons” at https://churchwonders.com/2022/12/16/the-os-of-christmas/ 

The “O Antiphon” today is about Emmanuel which means “God is with us” (Mt 1:23). The word Emmanuel comes from Greek – a translation of the original Immanuel from Hebrew. After generations of longing written about by Isaiah in 700 B.C., the proclamation of the birth of Emmanuel brought expectant joy – just as it does today on the seventh day of the “O Antiphons”.

O Antiphon

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
The first verse of the popular Advent hymn reflects the pleading of the exiled people of Israel:

Verse 1:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

Bible Passages
The poetic words of Isaiah are particularly associated with Advent and his prophetic passage speaks to the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah which is fulfilled with the birth of Jesus as described in the Gospel of Matthew.

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.

Matthew 1:22-23
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means “God is with us.”

References
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The Divine Office - https://divineoffice.org/1223-adv-w04-fri-ep/?date=20221223 

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – https://bible.usccb.org/bible - Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.