Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you who stop by to read my little blog every now and then! I hope today is a day of great peace and joy for each of you as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

"For unto us is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." --
Luke 2:11

One of my favorite parts about the Christmas story is Mary's willingness to accept her part in the Lord's story. Here was a girl -- by today's standards, a child -- who finds herself being told by an angel that she is pregnant. She's engaged to Joseph, who doesn't take the news well. He was going to quietly set her aside, basically divorce her since the child was not his. He also got a visit from the angel, who set him straight.

But Mary's story is captured in the canticle, also called the Magnificat, in Luke 1:46-55.

This portion usually is set to music during choirs' Christmas cantatas. We had an especially lovely version of it this year in "A New Birth/A New Beginning," a cantata written by John Purifoy.

The song is a duet, between the angel Gabriel and Mary:

Gabriel:
Mary, Mary, do you hear?
Mary, Mary do not fear.

Mary:
Who is there?
Who is there?
This voice in darkness so,
I'm so afraid,
What is it now that I must know?
Yes I hear,
I hear your voice from deep within my heart.
What is this message now that you impart?

Gabriel:
Fear not Mary,
O favored chosen one,
The Lord is with you,
and you shall bear a son.
Son of the Highest,
Jesus is his name,
exalted his kingdom,
endless is his reign.

Mary:
I am the servant of the Lord,
and I am among all women blessed.
I'll not fear what comes to pass,
the very Son of God is here at last.

He will do many great and mighty things,
and holy his name shall ever be.
I am blessed with Holy Child,
my soul does magnify his name adored.

For I shall ever humbly be
the servant of the Lord.

I am blessed and I humbly rejoice
in soul and spirit, in mind and voice.
In me his favor finds holist accord.
My steadfast soul does magnify the Lord.


I am the servant of the Lord
and I am among all women blessed.
I'll not fear what comes to pass,
the very Son of God is here at last.

He will do many great and mighty things
and holy his name shall ever be.
I am blessed with Holy Child
My soul does magnify his name adored.

For I shall ever humbly be
the servant of the Lord.