"O Mercy Divine" on Christmas Eve

This hymn by Charles Wesley is the commissioned carol for the annual--in the 100th anniversary years--of the Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel, Cambridge (music composed by Judith Weir):

O mercy divine, O couldst Thou incline,
My God, to become such an infant as mine?
What wonder of grace: The Ancient of Days
Is found in the likeness of Adam’s frail race!

He comes from on high, who fashioned the sky,
And meekly vouchsafes in a manger to lie;
Our God ever blest, with oxen doth rest,
Is nursed by His creature and hangs at the breast.

So heavenly-mild, His innocence smiled,
No wonder the mother would worship the Child,
The angels she knew had worshipped Him, too,
And still they confess adoration His due.

On Jesus’ face, with eager amaze,
And pleasure ecstatic the cherubim gaze;
Their newly born King, transported they sing,
And Heaven and earth with the triumph doth ring.

The shepherds behold Him, the promised of old,
By angels attended, by prophets foretold;
The wise men adore now, and bring Him their store,
The rich are permitted to follow the poor.

To the inn they repair, to see the young Heir;
The inn is a palace, for Jesus is there!
Who now would be great, and not rather wait
On Jesus their Lord in His humble estate?

Like Him would I be, my Master I see
In a stable; a manger shall satisfy me;
And here will I lie, till raised up on high,
With Him on the cross I recover the sky.

It's from Wesley's Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord published in 1745.

Image credit:The Nativity depicted in an English liturgical manuscript, c.1310-1320 (NB: This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.)

For Christmas Day: The Seven Joys of Mary

My sister gave me a copy of The Seven Joys of Mary by Romanus Cessario, OP, published by Magnificat as one of my birthday presents. I noticed that the King's College Cambridge 2016 Nine Lessons and Carols included a carol about Mary's Seven Joys, with a different list:

The first good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of one;

To see the blessed Jesus Christ

When he was first her son:

When he was first her son, good man,

And blessed may he be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity.

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of two;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

To make the lame to go:

To make the lame to go, good man:

And blessed may he be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity.

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of three;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

To make the blind to see:

To make the blind to see, good man:

And blessed may he be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity.

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of four;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

To read the Bible o’er:

To read the Bible o’er, good man:

And blessed may he be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity.

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of five;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

To bring the dead alive:

To bring the dead alive, good man:

And blessed may he be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity.

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of six;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

Upon the crucifix:

Upon the crucifix, good man:

And blessed may he be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity.

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of seven;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

To wear the crown of heaven:

To wear the crown of heaven, good man:

And blessed may he be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity.

The traditional list of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary is:

The Annunciation.
The Nativity of Jesus.
The Adoration of the Magi.
The Resurrection of Christ.
The Ascension of Christ to Heaven.
The Pentecost or Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Mary.
The Coronation of the Virgin in Heaven.

The Franciscans pray the Crown Rosary, meditating on a slightly different list of joys:

The Annunciation

The Visitation

The Nativity of Jesus

The Adoration of the Magi

The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

The Resurrection of Jesus

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Rejoice and be glad: Have a Mary, Merry Christmas!

Chesterton at Kings (Frances, That Is)

Each year I peruse the booklet for the Nine Lessons and Carols at the King's College Chapel in Cambridge to see what carols have been chosen and what the new commissioned carol is. Chesterton would approve of all that alliteration and this year Chesterton contributes to the program. Not G.K. Chesterton, but his wife, Frances Chesterton!

Here is the little door, lift up the latch, oh lift! 
We need not wander more but enter with our gift; 
Our gift of finest gold, 
Gold that was never bought nor sold; 
Myrrh to be strewn about his bed; 
Incense in clouds about his head; 
All for the child that stirs not in his sleep, 
But holy slumber holds with ass and sheep. 

Bend low about his bed, for each he has a gift; 
See how his eyes awake, lift up your hand, O lift! 
For gold, he gives a keen-edged sword 
(Defend with it thy little Lord!) 
For incense, smoke of battle red, 
Myrrh for the honoured happy dead; 
Gifts for his children, terrible and sweet, 
Touched by such tiny hands, and Oh such tiny feet.

The music is by Herbert Howells.

Our Greater Wichita chapter of the American Chesterton Society held a most festive meeting last Friday at Eighth Day Books: we read selections from collection by G.K. Chesterton called The Spirit of Christmas, of which I bought two copies last year (and gave one as a gift): it's as rare as hen's teeth now and the American Chesterton Society should reprint it as the companion volume to Frances Chesterton's collection, edited by Nancy Carpenter Brown, of poems and plays, How Far Is It to Bethlehem. You might say we had lessons without carols, but with many treats and great fun!

When my GKC group friends see this post, it may confirm us all more than ever that we should read The Woman Who Was Chesterton next, once we've finished reading and discussing The Well and the Shallows (and we can just about see the bottom of the well now).

According to the website for King's College Chapel:

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 on 24 December at 3pm (10:00 EST or 07:00 PST). The service is also broadcast at 2pm on Radio 3 on Christmas Day, and at various times on the BBC World Service.

In the United States the service is broadcast by around 300 radio stations, including American Public Media and its affiliates (Minnesota Public Radio and WNYC-New York, for example). Unfortunately there is no list of radio stations that are broadcasting the service, so it's best to contact your local stations or check their online listings.