O Wisdom

O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and, reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly. Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

The 'O' Antiphons of Advent.

I remember the first time I heard of the 'O' Antiphons, they struck me as something that had to be truly sacred. Anything referred to as 'O' must be something special. So when I actually read them it was something of a let down. They don't seem to say anything new, and they're not exactly striking poetry. But, I am dogged when confronted with something that resists my understanding, so I pushed on.

First came the obvious reference to John's Gospel. It calls to mind the Logos. "You came forth from the mouth of the Most High."

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1.1

It was the "reaching from beginning to end," that caught my attention. This is the action of God from eternity, for eternity. We cannot reach outside of time, God can. We cannot "order all things mightily" either. God can.

Advent is the time for us to beg the Incarnate Word to be born into our hearts. To come and save us from ourselves, and come to make us truly ourselves.