O Oriens — O Dayspring

O Oriens is the O Antiphon sung before the Magnificat at Evening Prayer on December 21 — in 2026, Monday, December 21. It is antiphon 5 of seven.

LatinO Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

Our translationO Dayspring, splendor of eternal light and sun of justice: come, and give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

A reflection

In the northern hemisphere this antiphon falls on or beside the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, and it asks for dawn. Oriens means the east, where the sun rises; it is the word Zechariah uses in the Benedictus for “the dawn from on high.”

Where the words come from

Every phrase of the antiphon is drawn from Scripture. These are the main sources, quoted from the World English Bible:

Malachi 4:2 (3:20 in Catholic numbering) (WEB)But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out and leap like calves of the stall.

Luke 1:78–79 (WEB)because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Isaiah 9:2 (WEB)The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death.

In the hymn

The verse of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1861) that paraphrases this antiphon:

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

How to pray it

At Evening Prayer it frames the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), said before and after it. At home, say it at the Advent wreath before dinner, then sing the matching verse of the hymn. At Mass it is the Gospel acclamation for the day.

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O Oriens: questions

What does O Oriens mean?

O Dayspring. It is the O Antiphon for December 21: O Dayspring, splendor of eternal light and sun of justice: come, and give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

When is O Oriens prayed in 2026?

On Monday, December 21, 2026, as the antiphon before the Magnificat at Evening Prayer.

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