December The Sixteenth

O LORD my God, be not Thou far from me; my God, have regard to help me; for there have risen up against me sundry thoughts, and great fears, afflicting my soul. How shall I pass through unhurt? how shall I break them to pieces? This is my hope, my one (and) only consolation, to flee unto Thee in every tribulation, to trust in Thee, to call upon Thee from my inmost heart, and to wait patiently for Thy consolation - Amen.

-- THOMAS A KEMPIS
photo of Carl Mydans, 1966, by John Loengard, Life magazine archives