The Great Antiphons of Advent

+JMJ+ The final few days before Christmas are here already and once again Advent has snuck up on me ad has flown, and I mean, FLOWN past me. I’ve barely begun to work on my Christmas to-do list, for the blog or for the house. Sigh. And so I begin again, deciding what matters most and putting that first and letting other things go.

Tonight what matters most is reminding myself what Advent is all about, preparing for the Second Coming of the Lord at the end of time (I almost wrote “at the end of all things” because I watched the Lord of the Rings again recently and Tolkien’s phrase has been very much with me) and trying to get this post written. I’m sitting in the den, watching a fireplace video (hey, I’m in Alabama, the house is warm enough, I don’t need an actual fire), soaking in the sacred sounds of Advent with the Great O Antiphons sung in Gregorian chant. When Major Tom Cat will let me, that is. (You may remember me mentioning him before, my previously-stray cat who showed up on my deck one day and has since become part of the family.) I’ve shared the chant videos below in a playlist.

Major Tom’s been sitting in my lap a lot lately and tonight he’s already decided that I’m his favorite siesta spot three separate times. And you know I can’t do anything but pet him when he deigns to grace me with his presence. That’s the main reason I’m so late getting this posted. Every time I pick up my laptop, Major Tom claims my lap! But I’m not really complaining (much), we’ve come a long way, he and I. He doesn’t scratch me nearly as often now as he used to. And he and Miss Lucy Dawg are slowly becoming friends. More on that later.

Video: “The Great Antiphons. Gregorian chant notation from the Liber Usualis (1961), p. 341. Latin lyrics sung by the Cantarte Regensburg.” This is a playlist of all seven antiphons. (If you watch them on YouTube, the other videos should show up to the right of your screen or under the current video.)

More about the O Antiphons.

Thanks for visiting the blog and reading. I pray that you and I will stay holy and virtuous during this Advent season, so that we become who the Lord intends us to be: SAINTS. God bless you and may His Peace be always with you. +JMJ+

Join me on Fridays for the Rosary Project Live on Twitter at 8pm ET, 7pm CT, to cultivate a culture of Life and Love, and to end the culture of death. There’s also a Rosary on the blog you can use anytime.

“The Rosary is the ‘weapon’ for these times.” — Padre Pio

Subscribe via email: While you’re here, subscribe to get new blog posts, updates on projects like the ebooks, giveaways, and who knows what else. And thank you very much!

Image credit: Advent wreath photo from Wallpaper Safari.

Full disclosure: When you make any purchase through my Amazon affiliate links (or my general Amazon link) on this site, I may make a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you. And thank you for your prayers and support.