Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, love divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,

Love incarnate, love divine;

Worship we our Jesus:

But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,

Love shall be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and to all people,

Love for plea and gift and sign.

Christina Rossetti.

Nativity Prayer of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Let Your goodness Lord appear to us, that we

made in your image, conform ourselves to it.

In our own strength

we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder

nor is it fitting for us to try.

But Your mercy reaches from the heavens

through the clouds to the earth below.

You have come to us as a small child,

but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts,

the gift of eternal love

Caress us with Your tiny hands,

embrace us with Your tiny arms

and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan

Earth stood hard as iron

Water like a stone

Snow had fallen

Snow on snow on snow

In the bleak midwinter

Long, long ago

Angels and Arc Angels

May have traveled there

Cherubim and Seraphim

Thronged the air

But only his Mother

In her maiden bliss

Worshiped the beloved

With a kiss

What can I give him?

Poor as I am

If I were a shepherd

I would give a lamb

If I were a wise man

I would do my part

But what I can I give him

Give him my heart

Give him my heart

Candle liturgy

Hope, peace, joy, and love. Four candles, four promises continually offered to us by God, and all of them manifest in this one we light tonight: the Christ candle. In Christ we find the hope of transformation, the peace that follows justice, the joy of self-fulfillment in community, and the love that encompasses us in all our diversity, empowering us to make our own unique contribution to this world. In Christ we find light and life, and the courage to be like him, answering his call and following in his footsteps.

We rejoice in God’s steadfast presence in our lives,

and in God’s unique presence in the life of Jesus of Nazareth—

born of Mary, growing through childhood into an adult ministry,

in all his life manifesting the peace, love, and justice of God;

his voice undimmed by the centuries

his call and his promise as clear to us as it was to his disciples so long ago.

Come to us, Lord Jesus,

Be born in us this night, in our hearts, our minds, our lives.

May the light of your life be kindled in us,

And lead us to the shining truth,

of God with us, God for us, God in us. Amen.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan