22nd December

Summer Solstice

I will give you treasures from dark, secret places. Isaiah 45: 3

Life be in my speech
Sense in what I say
The bloom of cherries on my lips
Till I come back again.

The love Jesus Christ gave
Be filling every heart for me
The love Jesus Christ gave
Filling me for everyone.

Traversing corries, traversing forests
Traversing valleys long and wild
The fair white Mary still uphold me
The Shepherd Jesus be my shield.

The fair white Mary still uphold me
The Shepherd Jesus be my shield.
Traditional Gaelic
(Corries are circular hollows on the moutainside where deer often lie)

Now begins the twelve long nights of yule. One night soon will be born Jesus, Son of the King of Glory, creation’s Joy. You will gleam to him moon and furthest star. You will gleam to him hills and housetops afar.

Lord of the seasons, on this day of briefest light
help us to be at home with the treasures of the dark.
As the days have drawn in
help us to flow with the ebb tides of life.
At the turning of the year
help us to welcome the Dawn from on high