So many stories surround this beloved saint.
We read from a few different sources. The following hymn from the Roman Breviary sums it all so simply.
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Tell, O my tongue,
the praise of the pontiff Nicholas;
that so the sovereign Adonai,
the King and Father of all creatures,
may grant us to be brought by his Son,
to the port of salvation.
When yet a babe at his mother’s breast,
he took it but once
on each fourth and sixth feria,
nor would the child
break his fast
by one drop of milk.
Elevated to the dignity of pontiff,
Nicholas so abundantly
gave to all men the dew of piety,
that scarce could any age
find a better
or so good a pastor.
He gives his gold to secure virgins their treasure;
he distributes corn to the people in a famine;
he brings up from the depths of the sea a vase
that had fallen in;
he brings help to mariners
who were well nigh to shipwreck.
He brings to life a dead man
who had committed a theft;
the Jew is baptized and recovers
what had been stolen from him;
the one is restored to life;
the other is brought to the faith.
Nicholas! thou fair gem,
and honour, and glory of the priesthood!
help by thy gracious intercession
the whole people, the whole clergy;
that their minds, and hands, and lips,
may pay their tribute to our God.
Praise, power, and triumph,
to the most high Trinity!
May it give us to come, after this life,
with our laurel wreaths upon us,
to the joys which Nicholas the blessed
possesses in our country of heaven.
Amen
This year’s books:
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