At this very early stage in the prize competition, I can only indicate to you the nature of the three excerpts:
31a refers to God's sacrifice for Mankind
8d is a call for peace
9d refers (I think) to the three wise men
---they're all from welll-known carols, tho' I didn't at first
recognize the lines myself, I must admit.
Try googling the combinations of words you can guess from the letters you have!