O Oriens, splendor lucis æternæ, et sol justitiæ: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. "O Morning Star, splendour of eternal light and sun of justice, come and illumine those seated in darkness and the shadow of death." On the shortest day of the year we invoke the Lord Jesus as light in our darknesss. In today's antiphon there are no fewer than six biblical references (the main ones are listed on our Liturgy page) but there can be little difficulty in grasping the central idea. Morning Star, Dayspring, Radiant Dawn (all ways of translating "Oriens"), Splendour of Eternal Light and Sun of Justice are evocative images, full of warmth and energy, suggestive of rebirth, healing and transforming hope. The earliest Christians turned to the east to pray and until recently Mass was always said with both priest and people facing the liturgical east as a sign of our expectation that Christ will come again (cf Acts 1: 11). We still await the Second Coming of our Saviour, but his coming is as sure as the dawn. (To hear today's antiphon, click on the image in the sidebar, go to the Prayer Box on our Vocation page or the notes on the O Antiphons on our Liturgy page. The Podcast for this week will be posted on Christmas Eve.)