Christmas Eve

by CCW | 24 December 2022 01:00

The collect for today, Christmas Eve (source[1]):

Almighty God,
who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance
of the birth of thy only Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as we joyfully receive him as our redeemer,
so we may with sure confidence behold him
when he shall come to be our judge;
who liveth and reigneth with thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: Titus 2:11-15[2]
The Gospel: St. Luke 2:1-14[3]

[4]

Christmas Eve[5]
(a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti[6])

Christmas hath darkness
Brighter than the blazing noon,
Christmas hath a chillness
Warmer than the heat of June,
Christmas hath a beauty
Lovelier than the world can show:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

Earth, strike up your music,
Birds that sing and bells that ring;
Heaven hath answering music
For all Angels soon to sing:
Earth, put on your whitest
Bridal robe of spotless snow:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

Artwork: Carlo Maratta, The Holy Night, 1655. Oil on canvas, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.

Source URL: https://christchurchwindsor.ca/2022/12/24/christmas-eve-14/

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