December 21

The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. ⁹My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart. Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices. ¹⁰Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. ¹¹For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. ¹²The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is heard in our land: ¹³The fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come: ¹⁴My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, shew me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely.

²Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings. ³Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise. ¹¹But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever: the thoughts of his heart to all generations. ¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: the people whom he hath chosen for his inheritance. ²⁰Our soul waiteth for the Lord: for he is our helper and protector. ²¹For in him our heart shall rejoice: and in his holy name we have trusted.

℟ Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just: sing to him a new canticle.

And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. ⁴⁰And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: ⁴²And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.