Ero Cras

The Season of Light:
Christmas Eve
The Christmas 'Novena', Day 8

The Word:
2 Samuel 7:1-16 ("I will raise up [an heir after David]...I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me")
Psalm 89:2-5, 27 & 29 (Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord)
Luke 1:67-79 ("Blessed be the Lord...he has come to his people and set them free")

Over the last seven days I introduced each of the seven verses of the ancient hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel. If you've been following, the verses all portray an image of the promised Messiah, according to the prophet Isaiah. Let's recap (Latin words in parentheses):

Come, Wisdom from on high (O Sapientia)
Come, Lord of might (O Adonai)
Come, Rod of Jesse (O Radix Jesse)
Come, Key of David (O Clavis David)
Come, Daystar (O Oriens)
Come, Desired [King] of the Nations (O Rex Gentium)
and, finally, Come, Emmanuel (O Emmanuel).

It is interesting to note that this hymn, though attributed to the 9th Century and in Latin, is similar to a style of Hebrew poetry, in which the first letter of each stanza or verse follows a pattern. (For example, each major section of Psalm 119 begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.) Taking all the bold letters from last to first, we have "ero cras", which is Latin for "Tomorrow, I will come."

Additionally, there was a practice in the Anglican Church to add one verse that was not part of the original series of antiphons. It, too was in Latin; a loose English translation reads like this:

O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be?
For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after.
Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me?
The thing which ye behold is a divine mystery.

This was added after the previous seven verses. Adding the "V" of virgin (Latin virgo), to the acrostic, we now have "vero cras" (Truly, tomorrow).

Now, you know.

O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

Dear Savior haste;
Come, come to earth,
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.

O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

O Christ, whom nations sigh for,
Whom priest and prophet long foretold,
Come break the captive fetters;
Redeem the long-lost fold.

Dear Savior haste;
Come, come to earth,
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.

O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

You come in peace and meekness,
And lowly will your cradle be;
All clothed in human weakness
Shall we your Godhead see.

Dear Savior haste;
Come, come to earth,
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.

O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

--O Come, Divine Messiah
16th Century French carol

Tonight the stars shine for the children
And light the way for dreams to fly
Tonight our love comes wrapped in ribbons
The world is right and hopes are high
And from a dark and frosted window
A child appears to search the sky
Because it's Christmas, because it's Christmas

Tonight belongs to all the children
Tonight their joy rings through the air
And so we pray God's tender blessings
To all the children everywhere
To see the smiles and hear the laughter
A time to give, a time to share
Because it's Christmas, for now and forever
For all of the children and for the children in us all

--Because It's Christmas (1990)
Barry Manilow

This night we pray
Our lives will show
This dream we have
Each child still knows

We are waiting
We have not forgotten

On this night, on this night
On this very Christmas night
On this night, on this night
On this merry Christmas night

--Christmas Canon (1998)
Words: Paul O'Neill, Music: adaptation of the Kanon by Johann Pachelbel
as recorded by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Tomorrow, while all may seem the same, the world will once more be turned upside down.

Until then, may your God be with you...