Ero Cras

O Sapientia
O Adonai
O Radix Jesse
O Clavis David
O Oriens
O Rex Gentium
O Emmanuel

The O Antiphons are highly structured. They are not thrown together at the last moment. There is no stretch to give them meaning. The begin with Wisdom and move through other titles of the messiah from the old testament: Lord, Stem of Jesse, Key of David, Daystar, Sovereign of Nations, God With Us.

Starting on the 17th of December and going through tonight, they form an acrostic if read backwards. E for Emmanuel, R for Rex, O for Oriens, and so forth spell out EROCRAS. Ero Cras, I have been told, is loosely translated from Latin as "Tomorrow I will come."

Part of me wonders how the monks came up with this. Was it a plan all along or a happy accident? Did they suddenly see it? Did they rearrange something to make it work? Did they used to have more O Antiphons but then realized it didn't spell anything that way? Did some novice say "but look at that!" and everyone oohed and ahhed?

Tomorrow I will come. Will Christ come for me? Will I be awake enough to notice, still enough in my heart to open the door? O Come O Come Emmanuel. Come thou long expected Jesus. Soon and very soon.