Praying the O Antiphons, day 5- December 21- O Oriens (Dayspring or Morning Star)

To be prayed at Evening Prayer or Vespers before the Magnificat

Questions for meditation: 
How does Jesus serve as a light to guide us or orient us, setting out a path for our own lives?
Where do you hear references to the Magnificat in the Antiphon or its scriptural sources?

Antiphon for December 21: 
O Rising Dawn, Radiance of the Light eternal and Sun of Justice: Come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Then pray the Magnificat:
And Mary said,
My soul overflows with your greatness, O Adonai;
        My spirit rejoices in you, O Savior of All the Nations!
For the light of your countenance has dawned over me
        despite my humble state.
From now and throughout eternity
        even those yet born will call me Blessed
                and sing of the great things you have done for me,
                exulting in the holiness of your Name.
You pour out your mercy on those who stand in awe of you,
        those who revere you,
                from ages untold to ages yet to come.
Your strong arm shields the humble
        and levels the proud in their isolating conceit.
You have razed the thrones of those who rule by might
        while setting the lowly and gentle upon seats of honor.
You have satisfied the hungry with abundant delights
        while giving the rich a begging bowl, 

                sending them away empty-handed.
You have come to the aid of your people unfailingly
        fulfilling your promises to our ancestors,
                to the children of Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham forever,
                standing among us from time immemorial.

Repeat the antiphon:
O Rising Dawn, Radiance of the Light eternal and Sun of Justice: Come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.




Prayer references for the antiphon:
Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12:
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jer 23:5)

Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. (Zech 3:8)

...say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch: for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. (Zech 6:12)

Habakkuk 3:4; Wisdom 7:26; Hebrews 1:3:
The brightness was like the sun;
rays came forth from his hand,
where his power lay hidden. (Hab 3:4)

For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness. (Wisdom 7:26)

He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… (Heb 1:3)

Malachi 4:2:
But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.

Psalm 107:10; Luke 1:78:
Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons… (Ps 107:10)

By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us… (Lk 1:7-8)