The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Nicholas (d. c. 326), Bishop of Myra (source):
Almighty Father, lover of souls,
who didst choose thy servant Nicholas
to be a bishop in the Church,
that he might give freely out of the treasures of thy grace:
make us mindful of the needs of others
and, as we have received, so teach us also to give;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Epistle: 1 St. John 4:7-14
The Gospel: St. Mark 10:13-16
Artwork: Paolo de’ Matteis, St. Nicolas of Bari felling a Tree Inhabited by Demons, c. 1727. Oil on canvas, High Museum of Art, Atlanta.