A HYMN FOR THE HOLY FAMILY
From the Office of Lauds
O Home of Nazareth so blest,
Thy sheltering hospitality
God's Church begat, made manifest
In thine own happy Family.
The sun, in coursing o'er the earth,
No happier spot hath lighted on,
Nor on a place of greater worth
Through all the ages hath he shone.
This house of God, how dread it is!
Here Angels came, and stood in line;
Heaven's courtiers waited here with bliss
Their turn to serve at virtue's shrine.
With diligence, in nothing loth,
There Jesus did good Joseph's will;
And Mary gladly served them both
As mother-wife, yet virgin still.
Her every care was Joseph's too,
Who toiled in love from dawn till night;
And so to them could grace accrue
From him who is the source of might;
For love of Jesus made these twain
In love conjugal e'en as one,
Whereby a great reward they gain,
Eternal love from him, their Son.
Like this, may Christian homes on earth
In holy charity increase;
Love sweeten pain, and give it worth,
And keep them all in God's sweet peace.
Praise God, who served, whilst here on earth,
Joseph, and her who gave him birth;
Whom with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore. Amen.
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