“The Infant Christ is the whole Christ. Christ was not more God, more Christ, more man, on the Cross than He was in His Mother’s womb. His first tear, His first smile, His first pulsation in the womb of His Mother, could have saved the world.”
–Caryll Houselander
Like the shepherds, who watched over their flock by night and were thus present to see a host of heavenly angels, I have kept watch this Advent, too.
Is that troublesome person a sign? Can I quell my impatience, fear, my own pain for a few minutes in order to be present to this other person in pain? Can I keep my heart open in spite of the rejection, rebuffs and misunderstandings to which every human being is subject?
Do I notice the heart-wrenching beauty of a sheaf of mesquite branches against the night sky? Am I pulsating every moment with gratitude that, in a continuing miracle of the loaves and fishes, I am in good physical, emotional, spiritual, mental (more or less) and financial health? Would people please leash their monstrously untrained dogs? WHOOPS!
Merry Christmas to all, with gratitude for your readership, spirits, works, joys, sufferings, and prayers–
Christ is born. Glory to God in the highest.
A poem by Madeleine L’Engle:
FIRST COMING
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace
He came when the Heavens were unsteady
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait
till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
He came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Merry Christmas Heather!
I rarely comment but I always read your posts. Recently, I re-read Ravished. Much of what you wrote resonated with me and consoled me. Thank you for the gift of your writing.
May the Baby Jesus, our good Lord, bless you and keep you well.
With prayers and gratitude,
Yvette in L.A.
Thank you for the beautiful reminder. Christmas Blessings, Heather.
Heather, you’ve done it again. Just when I was getting immersed in the beautiful insight of that last paragraph, in comes the whammy of humorous self-deprecation. That’s what I love about you. You take these things seriously, but yourself — not so much. A good lesson for us all this Christmas. May Christ bless you this Christmas, and always.
Merry and Blessed Christmas Heather. You help so many is us!
Thank you for all your Posts. Every day, all day , God urges me to be like Christ, and abandon my self center thinking. God bless you and Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, dear Heather! Sending you a virtual hug!
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année, Heather!
May our Lord continue to bless and inspire you abundantly!
Dear Heather, Merry Christmas and may all canines give you a large berth!
Thank you all so much for these greetings and comments, and for the Madeleine L’Engle poem…my cup runneth over…feeling a little tender and tired as probably many of us are…post-partum Christmas–not exactly depression, but a kind of depleted melancholy. Not without joy, though! The dogs left me alone today so thanks be to God, and blessings as we prepare to ring out 2021…