Defend the cradle of my mind

The Three Wise Men, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Come closer to me, closer still, O Power of the Holy Trinity.  
Enter into my consciousness more deeply 
    than thoughts and emblems of the world can.
In the same way as a wise mother, when she conceives,
    prepares and embellishes a cradle for her child,
    so prepare and embellish my mind for that which will be begotten from You,
    O Beauty and Purity.

Many evil thoughts lurk like serpents around the cradle of Your Son.
And many wicked desires emerge from my heart and seek the cradle of Your Prince,
    to poison Him with their arrows.

Defend the cradle of my mind,
    and teach my soul how to give birth and care for an infant.

Shroud in deep darkness 
    the journey of all malevolent visitors coming to see my newborn son.
And raise aloft a most radiant star 
    over the way of the Wise Men from the East,
    men who are truly wise, 
    because they are coming to visit my most precious child with three gifts—
    faith, hope, and love.

Come closer to me, still closer, my majestic Lord.

Nikolai Velimirovich 1881-1956 Serbian Orthodox monastic
Prayers by the Lakesource, edited
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Matthew 2:9-12

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, 
    and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them 
   until it stopped over the place where the child was. 
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, 
    and they bowed down and worshiped him. 
Then they opened their treasures 
    and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, 
    they returned to their country by another route.
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How is your mind vulnerable to harmful thought patterns?
How can reflecting on the personhood of Jesus help protect your thought life?

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