Question Corner: When can Catholics sing the Advent hymn ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel?’

Q: My favorite Advent hymn is “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” I’m used to singing it all through Advent, but the new choir director at my parish says we’re not allowed to sing it now until the fourth Sunday of Advent. Where is he getting this rule from, and why do we need to wait so long?

A: The church does not have any explicit rule about when the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” can be sung. In principle, it’s perfectly allowed to sing this throughout Advent. However, I think I can guess why your choir director wants to hold off on using this hymn until later in the season.

As you’re likely already aware, the Advent season is not static in its spirituality, but rather represents a journey toward the coming of Christ as the incarnate word of God into our world — and this is especially evident in our liturgical celebrations.

For example, in the readings at Mass, we begin the season of Advent with a call to be mindful of Christ’s eventual second coming in glory at the end of time, and move gradually toward readings that focus on his first coming in his Nativity in Bethlehem. The progressive lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath is another visual reminder of this spiritual journey.

But what can be easy to miss for those who don’t attend daily Mass is that the church’s liturgy takes a sharp turn seven days before Christmas on Dec. 17. At this point, the prayers of the church focus on Christ’s coming in a much more intense, focused and immediate way.

We do see this reflected in the daily Mass readings used from Dec. 17-23. At this point, the Gospels shift from Jesus’ teaching and episode from his adult life and ministry, and move toward the infancy narratives, or the stories surrounding the time of Jesus’ birth.

But one of the most noteworthy expressions of this liturgical time of heightened anticipation is the appearance of the “O antiphons.” The “O antiphons” are verses that are sung or recited twice a day from Dec. 17-23 every year: once as the Gospel acclamation or “alleluia verse” before the reading of the Gospel at Mass; and then again before the “Magnificat” or “Canticle of Mary” during Evening Prayer (Vespers) in the Liturgy of the Hours.

The seven different “O antiphons” each directly call out to Jesus as the coming Messiah using anticipatory imagery from the Old Testament. Christ is first addressed as “O, Wisdom…,” on Dec. 17, followed by the titles: “O, Leader of the House of Israel…,” “O, Root of Jesse’s stem…,” “O, Key of David…,” “O, Radiant Dawn…,” “O, King of All Nations…,” and finally as “O, Emmanuel…” on Dec. 23.

If these titles sound familiar to you, that’s no coincidence! The hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” was directly inspired by these antiphons. Because of this, many feel that this hymn is most fittingly reserved for the period just before Christmas when the church is actually in the midst of praying the “O antiphons.”

The reason why your choir director probably named the fourth Sunday of Advent as the time when you would start using this hymn is because this is the Sunday Mass that falls within the Dec. 17 – 23 timeframe. Sunday Masses typically have greater attention to music than a simple weekday Mass would. Although in places where it is custom of the parish for the congregation to sing a simple hymn at daily Masses, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is naturally often sung then.

In any case, although your pastor and choir director have the responsibility of planning the music for public parish Masses, there is nothing to stop you from incorporating this hymn into your own personal or family prayer routine throughout Advent if you so choose. Meditation on the various “O antiphons” can be a beautiful way to enter more deeply into the Advent season.

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