These are the readings which were used during the performance of DecemberSong 2012.

1. From the Proslogion of St. Anselm
Come, escape from your everyday business for a short while, hide for a moment from your restless thoughts. Break off from your cares and troubles and be less concerned about your tasks and labors. Make a little time for God and rest in Him.

Enter into your mind's inner chamber. Shut out everything but God and whatever helps you to seek him; and when you have shut the door, look for him. Speak now to God and say with your whole heart: I seek you face; your face, Lord, I desire.

Lord, my God; teach my heart where and how to seek you, where and how to find you. Look upon us, Lord, hear us and enlighten us, show us Your very self. Restore Yourself to us that it may go well with us whose life is so evil without You. Take pity on our efforts and our striving toward You, for we have no strength apart from You.

Teach me to seek You, and when I seek You show Yourself to me, for I cannot seek You unless You teach me, nor can I find You unless You show Yourself to me. Let me seek You in desiring You and desire You in seeking You, find You in loving You and love You in finding You.

2. From the writings of Bede Camera, O.S.B.
There is a yearning, deep inside of us,
deep down buried, beneath all the distractions,
the triviality and the fluff of the season;
that still quiet voice that whispers to us
"There must be so much more to life than this."

But to hear that voice, we must make room.
We must quiet ourselves, and all around us.
For it is only in the stillness and the silence can we hear
that part of us which is most true, most honest,
most yearning.

The yearning will be fulfilled: that is the great promise
of Advent, and the great joy of Christmas,
but in order to experience its promise,
at first we must lay aside many things, . . .
and sit still . . .
and yearn.

3. From the Gospel of Saint John, Chapter 1

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him,
and without him, nothing came to be.

In him was life,
and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God.

He came to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.

He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone,
was coming into the world.

4. From the writings of T. J. O'Gorman

Face to face with our limits,
Blinking before the frightful
Stare of our frailty,
Promise rises.

Like a possee of clever maids
Who do not fear the dark
Because their readiness
Lights the search.

Their oil
Becomes the measure of their love,
Their ability to wait--
An indication of their
Capacity to trust and take a chance.

Without the caution or predictability
Of knowing day or hour,
They fall back on that only
of which they can be sure:
Love precedes them;
Before it
No door will ever close.

quoted from An Advent Sourcebook
Liturgy Training Publications
Thomas J. O'Gorman, editor

5. From the Writings of Susan Cherwien

Our lives are filled with sound.

Once upon a time, life was quiet enough
that a shout could alert people to a fire;
eventually, as towns grew larger
and more crowded,
a clanging bell was necessary
to raise an alarm;
now we need triton sirens and air horns.

Beneath the sounds of our conversation
is the distant hum
of freeways,
the clicking of a hard drive. . . .
radio talk,
television laughter,
so that we are filled, filled, filled
with the noise of our limited world. . . .
But beneath all the commotion
of human busy-ness
is a breath of eternal song
(God placed it there)
sweet/strong
causing the heart to beat
making the breath catch
beneath it all is a fair harmony,
the song of the hosts of heaven. . . .
But to hear it,
there must be
silence.

6. From the Gospel of Luke

Now there were shepherds in that region,
living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.

The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.

For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you
who is Messiah and Lord.

 "And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger."