O Magnum Mysterium

"Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy..."

Dec 25, 2023

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!

Shaun Kenney is the editor of The Republican Standard, former chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Fluvanna County, and a former executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia.