“Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy…”
If you want to listen to one of my favorite Christmas hymns, it is Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium. Composed in 1994, the original verse comes from the Roman Missal and reads as follows:
O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
iacentem in praesepio!
O beata virgo, cuius viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Iesum Christum.
Alleluia!
Or for those of you more accustomed to the King’s English:
O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the newborn Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying:
Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
— Luke 2:10-14
From the very bottom of my heart, from my family to your own:
Merry Christmas!