Nativity track 2009 - "gloria in excelsis deo!"

As you can see, a shepherd has arrived to see if what all those angels were talking and singing about up in the sky was actually true. He's the first, the youngest shepherd. The rest are following behind. He's on one knee there at the manger, overcome with wonder, while Mary kneels with clasped hands and Joseph hovers protectively nearby.

Tonight at Mass, we sang the Gloria for the first time since the Feast of Christ the King at the end of November. Advent is a period of waiting, so we don't lift our voices in that familiar refrain that starts out with the words the angels, reeling in excitement, sang in the sky over that hillside near Bethlehem all those many years ago:

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth!