Readings (Click the links to see the readings)

Numbers 24:2-7,15-17 | Psalm 25:4-10 | Matthew 21:23-27

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Prayer

O God,
from whom all holy desires,
all good counsels,
and all just works proceed,
give your servants that peace which the world cannot give;
that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments and that,
defended by you,
we may pass our time in rest and quietness.

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep'"

"Christmas Bells" Blandfordia nobilis
Australian National Botanic Garden, Australian Christmas Plants.

John Gorka, Christmas Bells, words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, tune by John Calkin, 1872.