January 1st: Dom Gueranger on The Circumcision of Our Lord Pt. III

"......what shall we give in return to this Saviour of our souls for the Circumcision, which he has deigned to suffer, in order to show us how much he loved us? We must, according to the teaching of the Apostles, circumcise our heart from all its evil affections, its sins and its wicked inclinations; we must begin, at once, to live that new life, of which the Infant Jesus is the sublime model. Let us show him our compassion for this his earliest suffering for us, and be more attentive, than we have hitherto been, to the example he sets us."

From a Sequence in the ancient Missals of the Church of Paris:

"May thy Circumcision be the cleansing and the healing of our heart's wounds.
May the blood thou didst shed purify our stains, refresh our parched hearts, and give consolation to the sad.
We are beginning now a New Year, when friends give Gifts to friends; let thine, dear Jesus, be the preparing us our recompense.
Amen."

Magnificat Antiphon at Second Vespers:

"Great is the mystery of our inheritance! The womb of a most pure Virgin became the Temple of God. Hi is not defiled assuming to himself Flesh from her. All nations shall come, saying: Glory be to thee, O Lord!"

After the prayer the Octave of Saint Stephen is commemorated.