Praying With Our Lady of Expectation
By Carolyn Ferguson
Last year during Advent, I was a little bit of a mess. I knew my husband had talked to my dad about marrying me (my sweet man cannot keep a secret to save himself!), and I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in the weeks to come: excitement, giddiness, but also impatience and anxiety. I felt half paranoid (“Is he proposing tonight? No, what about that event? No…when?! Has he changed his mind?!”) and the wait was surprisingly so hard.
Time and time again I would find myself in prayer meditating on the image of me simply sitting with the Blessed Mother on a log. We didn’t say anything but kept each other company as we awaited a very good and joyful thing (for me: a proposal, for her: the Savior). We were both a little antsy and nervous but looking forward at what’s to come.
And then, on a Saturday, beneath a full moon, in the middle of praying the rosary, half way through the mystery of the Wedding Feast at Cana, Peter knelt down and asked for my hand in marriage. I couldn’t keep track of my Hail Marys after that as we skipped off into the night.
The next day, I looked to see if it happened to be on any particular feast day, and it was a feast neither of us had ever heard before, but I still smile to this day whenever I think of it: Peter, unaware of this feast day, asked me to be his wife on the Feast of Our Lady of Expectation.
This feast day encourages us to simply wait with Mary, full of hope and looking ahead at what’s to come and preparing our hearts (ie: how I spent my whole Advent!). It falls nine days before Christmas on December 18th and can be traced back to the 7th century and was originally the feast of the Annunciation.
Our Lady of Expectation is also sometimes referred to as Our Lady of the O, because on December 18th the Church begins to pray the O Antiphons which begin nine days before Christmas (which in a way symbolizes the nine months Jesus was in the womb).
There’s seven O Antiphons (or short chants which are sung at the beginning of Evening Prayer), and it’s been around since the 8th century. Aleteia describes them this way: “There are many levels to the symbolism and foreshadowing of the antiphons. Individually, they each speak on their own, addressing our Lord by a different title or name given to him in Old Testament prophecies, imploring him to come and save his people. These antiphons are called the “O Antiphons” because each chant begins with great cry, “O …” :
O Sapientia — O Wisdom
O Adonai — O Lord
O Radix Jesse — O Root of Jesse
O Clavis David — O Key of David
O Oriens — O Dayspring
O Rex Gentium — O King of the Nations
O Emmanuel — O God with Us
So this Christmas season, I encourage you to sit with Our Lady of Expectation and place all of your faith in the Lord at what’s to come—even when it’s hard, seems crazy, or you’re ready to burst with whatever it is your heart is feeling. Our Lady will never let you down. She is so truly our Mother, and she will always accompany you as you await our Lord.
