Angelic Thoughts

by | Dec 19, 2013 | mercy

  Bless this glorious angel. May it remind us to always announce the good news of your birth to the world. I think we underestimate angels. I mean, I don’t want to worship them. When the apostle John tried that in the Book of Revelation, the angel said,...

Walking with the Wise Men

by | Dec 16, 2013 | mercy

Bless these wise men bearing splendid gifts. May they inspire us to lay our shining best at your feet. This is one of my favorite prayers from the nativity tradition in our house. I’m especially fond of the magi, who are only mentioned in Matthew’s gospel....

A New Shepherd’s Prayer

by | Dec 12, 2013 | mercy

Today’s Nativity prayer from Thirty Days to Glory goes like this: Bless this caring shepherd and the small lamb cradled in his arms. May it whisper of your caring embrace in our lives. We always used that prayer, but I’m going to revise it. Those phrases...

The Blessing Grows

by | Dec 9, 2013 | mercy

Decades ago, our family started a tradition of saying prayers as we assembled our nativity scene each year. When we first started, our youngest child was so small we had to lift her so she could place the Baby Jesus in the manger. With four young children and a...