“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a beautiful, pleading Advent hymn that echoes to us from centuries past. And yet, it also draws us forth into the season of yearning for Christ to be born anew in our world today.
One line from the song says, “fill the whole world with heaven’s peace,” which speaks to my heart’s desire for the peace of Christ to be made manifest here and now. This pleading prayer threads throughout the world connecting with all people seeking peace on our planet today. I love praying with this song because of its prophetic lyrics and monastic rhythms. Although I am not a member of a monastic community, Advent brings me deeper into my interior relationship with God and connects me to the natural rhythms of the silence and darkness of winter.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is believed to have been written in France in the 8th or 9th century and was included as part of the “O Antiphons,” which we traditionally sing or pray during the last seven days of Advent. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “[The O Antiphons] are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative “Come!” embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah.”
Praying with this song links my heart’s desire for the peace of Christ to fill the whole world with all of those who have prayed these words before me. I imagine our founding Sisters of St Joseph singing these same lyrics in 1650 in the candlelight Cathedral of Le Puy, France, as they, too, yearned for the peace of Christ to heal their wounded world.
As I live into Advent this year, I am reminded that Emmanuel means “God with us.” God is with us, among us and continues to come to us in abounding love, unity and hope. Create in me a new heart, O God, that I may be birthed anew this Advent as a prophetic bearer of Christ’s light and love in dark times. Standing on the shoulders of those who came before me, I pray for the grace to receive Christ into my heart each and every day so that I may be a part of God’s magnificent work to fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
