Author: Sr. Dorcee, beloved

I am the one whom Jesus loves.

The Ageless Hymn

Sr. Dorcee, beloved2 Comments

Our hearts’ longing:
  to sound Thy praises in fresh and untried ways,
To bring new pleasure to Thy ears
  on this Feast of Thy Birth,
  pouring at Thy feet rich ointment
   of fragrance sweet,
And crowning Thy head with golden garlands
  whose brightness is unvisioned.

But, alas, there is not song that is yet unsung
Or words unwritten to sound in Thy ears
Or gold of such wonder that is yet unseen.
There is nothing new found meet an fitting for Thee.

Except in Thee.
For You are the Praise and the Song and the Feast.
You alone are pleasing, and apart from Thee
  there is no beauty.
In You is every new song,
And a life lived in Thee is a crown on Thy brow.

So on this day when hearts burst forth,
And seek to find new ways to praise,
We gladly lose our lives in You,
  poured fully out at Thy feet.

And You, dear Christ, will be our Song,
  ageless and renowned,
The perfect Hymn of offering.

             26 December 1990
             Feast of the Incarnation

Let Him proceed from His chamber

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copyright Christel Holl

Turn to us, You who sustain Israel,
who sit above the Cherubim,
appear before Ephraim,
stir up your might and come.

Come, Redeem of the nations,
show the birth of the Virgin;
all generations admire it:
such a birth befits God.

Not from the seed of man
but through a mystic breath
God’s word became flesh,
and the fruit of the womb blossomed.

The womb of the Virgin swells,
but purity’s cloister remains intact;
the banners of the virtues are resplendent:
God is in His temple.

Let Him proceed from His chamber,
royal hall of purity,
as a giant of dual nature,
to run his path with alacrity.

His coming from the Father,
his return to the Father;
his passage even to the netherworld,
his return to the place of God.

You who are equal to the eternal Father,
gird up the trophy of the flesh,
strengthening with unfailing virtue
our body’s weakness.

Already your crib shines bright,
and the night spreads a new light
that no darkness can obscure.
and perennial faith shines forth.

St. Ambrose