Antiphona 5

This antiphon draws from Apocalypse 22:4, describing the beatific vision: 'Videbunt faciem ejus' (they shall see his face). The 'visio beatifica' is the supreme reward of the blessed - direct, unmediated knowledge of God. The second phrase, 'nomen ejus in frontibus eorum' (his name on their foreheads), indicates total consecration: as Hebrew slaves were marked with their master's name (Exodus 21:6), so the saints bear God's name as a seal of eternal belonging. At Lauds, when light dispels night's darkness, this antiphon promises the ultimate dawn: the light of God's countenance that admits no shadow. The face-to-face encounter contrasts with our present knowledge 'per speculum in aenigmate' (through a glass darkly, 1 Cor. 13:12).