A Blessing of the Light

When the days are dreary and the light is dim,
When it seems that the world is hopeless,
Full of illness, violence, and death,
Bless the tender signs of hope we see
In the newborn child, in the generosity of the stranger.

When the night is long and tragedy reigns,
When voices of justice are drowned out by acts of hate,
Children dying, mothers crying,
Bless the tenacious love to which we cling,
Love that hangs on, though we would let go into despair.

When all around us is sadness and grief,
When each new day brings news of illness,
Stories of cancer, announcements of death,
Bless the promise of a light that shines through darkness,
Light of a star, light of a smile, light of a babe.

Bless the tears,
Bless the grief,
Bless the despair,
Bless the dying.

Bless the hope,
Bless the love,
Bless the life,
Bless the light.

Come, Emmanuel, God with us,
And bring us light.

 
 
Find more of my prayers in my book Christ Beside Me, Christ Before Me: Celtic Blessings.