O Oriens

Sunrise in Cape May, New Jersey

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of light everlasting: 
 Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

For us in the northern hemisphere, today marks the shortest and darkest day of the year.  For some that darkness pervades our lives in so many manifestations.  But there is something about a sunrise, especially at the shore, that signals a burst of energy and life into a new day, heralding a new beginning.

Let us pray, this day, to open our eyes in order to see a new light, a new idea, a new friend, a new love – to see the new dawns in our lives, all reflections of God’s love for us.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.