O, come all ye faithful

DECEMBER 21, 2007 (FRIDAY) – I’ve told you that my favorite carol is “Silent Night,” followed very closely by “Joy to the World.” The countdown continues with number three: “O, Come, All Ye Faithful.” These choices are not set in stone; I’m not even totally convinced that they are my favorite three carols, but right now I think they are. We will have no number four, but if we did, I think it would be, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.”
John Frances Wade wrote the words; 100 years later, Frederick Oakely composed the music. The hymn has two titles, “O, Come All Ye Faithful,” and “Adeste Fidelis.” Wade wrote the words of the original hymn in Latin, and never translated the words into his native tongue, English. That was left for others to do at a later date. Adeste Fidelis is the title of the original Latin version.
Don’t you just love the opening verse? “O, come all ye faithful, joyful and trimphant!” hits the ground running, affirming Christ, who gives us joy and promises victory over all our spiritual enemies.