Dear St. Christopher’s Family, 

I hate waiting. Even if it’s a sure thing, even if I know exactly when the thing I’m waiting for will happen, waiting is still hard. Waiting for Christmas is no different. Of course, there are little games we can play to take our minds off the delay. You’ve probably seen the sudden proliferation of Advent calendars, both sacred and profane, that give us all a little prize each day we open a door: a toy, a piece of candy, and now, apparently, beer, wine, or dog treats.
 
Starting Tuesday, it’s the last week of waiting. The church gives us a final countdown, as it were, with a fairly clever game: the ‘O Antiphons.’ You probably recognize them as the 7 verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Each day between December 17 and 23, as one of the verses in Morning or Evening Prayer, we pray one of the Old Testament names the prophets used to anticipate God coming to be with his people:
 
December 17: Wisdom (Sapientia)
December 18: Lord (Adonai)
December 19: Root of Jesse (Radix Jesse)
December 20: Key of David (Clavis David)
December 21: Dawn of the East (Oriens)
December 22: King of the Nations (Rex Gentium)
December 23: God With Us (Emmanuel)
 
It’s actually a bit of a nerdy game, but a prayerful one. Each of these names or titles spells out with its first letter (in Latin, of course) a “secret code.” SARCORE. Now put it backward: ERO CRAS, which is Latin for “I will be here tomorrow!” It’s a great way to spend the last week before Christmas, reminding ourselves exactly who we’re waiting for. And when we’re done, hearing again the promise that God will indeed be with us.
 
May this last stretch of Advent move quickly. Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!.