Our Morning Offering – 27 December
Nativity Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 306-373)
The feast day of Your birth
resembles You, Lord
Because it brings joy to all humanity.
Old people and infants alike
enjoy Your day.
Your day is celebrated
from generation to generation.
Kings and emperors may pass away,
And the festivals to commemorate
them soon lapse.
But Your festival
will be remembered until
the end of time.
Your day is a means and
a pledge of peace.
At Your birth heaven and earth
were reconciled,
Since You came from heaven
to earth on that day
You forgave our sins and wiped
away our guilt.
You gave us so many gifts on the day
of Your birth:
A treasure chest of spiritual medicines
for the sick;
Spiritual light for the blind;
The cup of salvation for the thirsty;
The bread of life for the hungry.
In the winter when trees are bare,
You give us the most succulent
spiritual fruit.
In the frost when the earth is barren,
You bring new hope to our souls.
In December when seeds
are hidden in the soil,
The staff of life springs forth
from the virgin womb, amen.
AnaStpaul 