St. Nicholas, from St. Nicholas Anglican Church in Cardiff, Wales.

Today marks the feast of the legendary and enigmatic St. Nicholas. While little is known about his life, the web is chock full of links and lore. You can find lots of information (which may or may not be entirely true) at the St. Nicholas Center, over at Catholic Online and at this nifty site, for the St. Nicholas Society. There, you’ll find a link to the Little Office of St. Nicholas, which includes the prayer below:

O good Saint Nicholas,
you who are the joy of the children, put in my heart the spirit of childhood, which the Gospel speaks, and teach me to seed happiness around me.
You, whose feast prepares us for Christmas, open my faith to the mystery of God made man.

You, good bishop and shepherd, help me to find my place in the Church and inspire the church to be faithful to the gospel.

O good Saint Nicholas,
patron of children, sailors and the helpless,
watch over those who pray to Jesus, your Lord and theirs, as well as over those who humble themselves before you.
Bring us all in reverence to the Holy Child of Bethlehem,
where true joy and peace are found.

Amen.

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