Feast Of St. Nicholas

Gentile da Fabriano - from his series of four panels, "Stories of St Nicholas of Bari", 1425

Readings:

Psalm 78:3-7 or 145:8-13
1 John 4:7-14
Mark 10:13-16

PRAYER

Almighty God, who in your love gave to your servant Nicholas of Myra a perpetual name for deeds of kindness on land and sea: Grant, we pray, that your Church may never cease to work for the happiness of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

James Kiefer has an excellent biography of St. Nicholas at the Lectionary, which ends with this comment:

We may note in passing that the picture of him as roly-poly is a late development. Early stories indicate that he was generous to others, but not given to self-indulgence. Indeed, even as an unweaned infant, he fasted regularly on Wednesdays and Fridays....

Then, go read Padre Mickey's wonderful biographical post on St. Nicholas, which explains the painting.

Also, Kishnevi wrote a lovely letter to two young friends about St. Nicholas.

Image from Wiki.