“O RISING SUN” (DECEMBER 21)- A REFLECTION ON THE GREAT “O” ANTIPHONS FOR THE SECOND PART OF ADVENT

Today’s supplication to Christ at Mass and at Vespers goes thus:

“O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”

Dear friends, with the antiphon “O Rising Sun!” (O Oriens), we express the world’s deep longing for the advent of the One who would dispel the spiritual darkness that no earthly sun can overcome. This prophetic cry finds its roots in God’s promise: “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Isaiah 60:19-20). This promise foretells the coming of Christ, the true Rising Sun, who rises above and transcends the created sun and moon, bringing an eternal light to His people.

In the Canticle of Zechariah, the priest, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaims the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “Through the tender mercy of our God, the Rising Sun shall visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). Zechariah’s words reveal the profound reality of Christ’s mission as the divine light that illuminates every heart and dispels the shadow of sin and death.

We, too, live in a world darkened by confusion, moral decay, and the loss of eternal values. The disordered ideals of our age create a spiritual fog that obscures humanity’s vision of truth and goodness. Yet, in this time of Advent, we await with hope the Rising Sun—the radiant light of Christ’s Nativity—to penetrate the obscurity of our world. As St. John proclaims, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9). This light is not fleeting; it is the everlasting light that draws humanity out of the “long night” of sin into the dawn of salvation.

Let us, then, implore the splendour of Christ’s light to radiate into every dark corner of our hearts and our world. May His coming bring clarity where there is confusion, hope where there is despair, and peace where there is turmoil. Jesus Christ, the eternal Rising Sun, comes to end the long night of the elect, leading us into the glorious day of His kingdom. May we open our hearts to His light and allow it to transform us and our world.