O Heart that throbbed with joy within the manger

That glorious night of peace, long long ago,

When king and child and shepherd came to greet Thee,

And bid Thee welcome to a world of woe;

O Heart that we have outraged and insulted,

And wounded with the poisoned shafts of sin,

How can we come to-night, Thy erring children,

To seek Thy dazzling door and enter in?

 

O Heart that deigned to dwell within a stable,

Among the humble creatures Thou hadst made,

That bore the cares of poverty in exile

And faced the hill of Calvary unafraid;

O Heart that has endured the countless tortures

That men have made Thee feel through all the years,

Thou wilt not close Thy door to those who seek Thee,

Their gift – a flood of hot, repentant tears.

 

O gentlest Jesu! Bid us welcome,

We come as did the shepherds long ago,

To kneel within the lovelight of The Presence,

Unmindful of the biting frost and snow;

And set Thy Star of Faith and Hope before us

To keep our souls from sin’s dark shadows free,

To guide us oe’r the mountains of temptation

And lead us Home to Mary and to Thee.

E-Mail

HOME---------------------CHILDREN

www.catholictradition.org/Christmas/christmas-prayer.htm