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Virgin, wholly marvelous
St. Ephraem the Syrian, known as “the harp of the Holy Spirit,” composed some of the most beautiful hymns of the ancient Church. This hymn, com- posed for the Feast of the Nativity, celebrates Mary’s dignity as the mother of our Lord.
Virgin, wholly marvelous,
who didst bear God’s Son for us,
worthless is my tongue
and weak of thy purity to speak.
Who can praise thee as he ought?
Gifts, with every blessing fraught,
gifts that bring the gifted life, thou didst grant us, maiden-wife.
God became thy lowly Son,
made himself thy little One,
raising men to tell thy worth
high in heav’n as here on earth.
Heav’n and earth, and all that is,
thrill today with ecstasies,
chanting glory unto thee,
singing praise with festal glee.
Cherubim with fourfold face are no peers of thine in grace;
and the six-winged seraphim
shine, amid thy splendor, dim.
Purer art thou than are all
heav’nly hosts angelical,
who delight with pomp and state on thy beauteous Child to wait.
—St. Ephraem the Syrian
IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
Has familiarity with the Christmas story dulled my sense of wonder over what actually happened that night? Have I taken time to ponder what it means for me that God himself became one of us—and chose Mary for his mother?
CLOSING PRAYER
From a late medieval Christmas prayer: Mother of God, who wrapped your little, sweet Babe in clothes, and between two beasts in a crib laid him in hay, pray for me that my naked soul may be wrapped in fear and love of my Lord God.
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