O God, who in the beginning of all things didst create heaven and earth: Grant that at this beginning of the year we may create a world filled with compassion and kindness, with mercy and forgiveness, with beauty and wonder; and help us, we beseech thee, to prepare for that last day when thy Son our Lord shall return and create the entire world anew as a kingdom meet for his habitation; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with the and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
![La nouvelle Jérusalem](http://www.ststeve.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/La-nouvelle-Jérusalem-1024x634.jpg)
The New Jerusalem (Tapestry of the Apocalypse), by Komon Berlin, based on a 14th century tapestry. From Wikipedia.