SIGNS OF THE TIMES

  

Great excitement! A  few years ago an Anglo-Saxon burial ground was discovered in Cambridgeshire.  Why the fuss?  Because a grave contained what could well have been the earliest Christian remains to be found in England. The deceased was thought to have been a sixteen year old girl of noble birth, possibly a princess.  She died some 1,400 years ago.  And why was she thought to be a Christian?  Because she was buried holding a cross in her hands.  That cross was a clear, unmistakable sign that she had been a follower of the crucified and risen Christ, and had placed her hope of eternal happiness in Him. And these were surely the sentiments of those responsible for her burial!  An object close to her heart in life was placed close to hear heart in death!

  Much more recently, when our mother died, my brother Peter’s crucifix, given him as a First Communion present, was placed in her coffin.  That simple gesture expressed their deep shared faith in the crucified and risen Lord. This cross and actual gesture of placing this family treasure spoke beyond the grave and the separation caused by her death, to their hope of being re-united in God’s eternal happiness. 

 For them and for Christians throughout the ages the cross was the sign of our salvation, and remains so for Christians throughout the world, even to this day.  The cross denotes our identity as followers of Christ crucified.  That was true of the teenage girl buried some 1,400 years ago; that is true of Christians today.  For all of us the cross is a visible, silent witness to our faith.  We wear it with pride, but not with aggressive arrogance.  

For us the cross is the sign by which we have been saved.   If we want proof of God’s love and concern for us, we don’t need special visions and revelations.   Look at the cross; that’s the only sign we need.     In fact Jesus was exasperated with those who were forever seeking signs!  That showed a lack of faith in Him.  We shouldn’t be constantly putting Him to the test by asking Him to prove Himself.  That’s what the devil did when he tempted Jesus in the desert. We shouldn’t behave like the devil!

But sadly, for many the cross means little or nothing. For others the cross can be an uncomfortable reminder of the way the crucified Christ challenges our secular way of thinking and behaving. Others find the cross either ridiculous or offensive.  I’m always amused and confused when a boxer makes the sign of the cross as he steps in the ring.  He then proceeds to knock the living day-light out of his oponent!   Sadly, in so-called Christian countries, believers have been denied the right to wear a visible cross at the work-place.  It’s feared the cross might offend non-believers.  Strangely they don’t seem to object, nor do they find offensive the Nativity being portrayed in civic Christmas decorations or on postage stamps. 

But sadly, for many the cross means little or nothing. For others the cross can be an uncomfortable reminder of the way the crucified Christ challenges our secular way of thinking and behaving. Others find the cross either ridiculous or offensive.  I’m always amused and confused when a boxer makes the sign of the cross as he steps in the ring.  He then proceeds to knock the living day-light out of his opponent!   Sadly, in so-called Christian countries, believers have been denied the right to wear a visible cross at the work-place.  It’s feared the cross might offend non-believers.  Strangely they don’t seem to object, nor do they find offensive the Nativity being portrayed in civic Christmas decorations or on postage stamps.

  There’s a danger of the minority of the so-called ‘politically correct’ projecting their views onto others, and forcing the rest  of us to conform.  Anyway, we Christians are called to give public witness to our faith, not to hide it.  Wearing a cross makes clear what we believe, without our forcing our faith upon anyone.   

 And as we look upon the cross we discover its meaning.  We see an image of the Son of God made man.  Far from being a criminal, He was completely innocent.  Although despised and rejected as a failure He was enthroned there on the cross as the triumphant victor over sin and death. He confronted evil and conquered it, not by force of arms, but by the power of His goodness and love. 

As Jesus hung upon the cross it was as though, as man, He stretched out one hand to His heavenly Father, and as God, He reached out with the other hand to us sinners. His love has drawn God and man together in His crucified person. He has made our peace with God through His death on the cross. 

In Christ’s crucifixion we see the triumph of love over malice, goodness over evil, life over death. God has used the horrific instrument of execution –the cross –to achieve His purpose –the salvation of the world. This will seem madness to non-believers, but for us it is the wisdom of God, which defies human logic.  In the crucified Christ we see the sublime folly, the extravagance, of God's love for us.

 But to those who are scandalized by our professing our faith in the crucified Christ, or simply think we are mad, St. Paul replies, “Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength,” (1 Cor. 1. 22-25).

 Let us not allow the expression of our faith be driven underground, but wear a cross and witness to it with pride.   With St. Paul let us proclaim, “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world,”  (Gal 6. 14). Again, with Paul, let us rejoice that, “I have been crucified with Christ: and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me, (Gal. 2. 19-21).

For many it is more than an accessory of their costume jewellery; for many it is a charm that is supposed to bring good fortune – such as a horse-shoe or a black cat. However, there is the beautiful custom of kissing the figure of the crucifix before reciting the Rosary.  Others who are proud to wear upon their person this emblem of their Christianity might do well to show it this same affectionate reverence.  We make exception for those whose crosses are permanently attached to their ears! – would like to insert this piece of mischief?

Isidore O.P.

A LOST SAVIOUR....A MISSING SAVIOUR?

"Be holy as I am holy; be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect."

We wouldn’t take this seriously if it weren’t for the fact that these are the Words of God to be found in the Sacred Scriptures which He inspired. Isn’t our Heavenly Father asking too much of us, expecting too much from us? Not really, if we remember that God asks of us nothing that is impossible, but makes what is difficult possible.

The call to share in the life of God who is holy, or, better, to live by God’s gift of His very self to us, must be the core of our Christian spirituality – the very essence of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As God’s beloved children in our own lives we are meant to mirror the holiness of God’s own life!

What dignity God has conferred on us, His beloved children for whom He wants so much, from whom He expects so much! Sadly, for all of us there have been times when we have been a disappointment to God. We have to ask ourselves, "How much or how little it has meant to us that we have offended the God who has showered so much love on us?"

I dare to suggest that regular, humble self-examination and self-accusation, together with the recognition of our personal sinfulness in thought, word, deed, and omission, are not prominent on today’s Christian landscape. Far too seldom do we beat our breasts and mutter, "Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault!’

And yet, without a sense of sin there can be no sense of the need of that repentance, causing us to yearn for His forgiveness, nor the felt need to be reconciled to Him, by Him. In such a vacuum what sense is there in singing, ‘God of mercy and compassion, look with pity upon me?’ What motivation is there to recite the much loved Jesus Prayer, 

'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner?'

Could it be we have come to resemble those who regarded Jesus as stimulating company but never saw themselves of needing from Him any spiritual healing? To the likes of these Jesus said, 'It is not those that are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have come to call not the upright but sinners to repentance,’ (Lk. 5.31).

Much as I dislike it, I have to suggest our generation is on the way to losing its sense of an urgent need for a Saviour. And yet Sacred Scripture describes the mission of Jesus in terms of being Saviour.

‘She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins,.' ( Mtt.1.21); and ‘For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through him the world might be saved,’ (Jn.3.17).

As I see it, in our promoting the New Evangelization we simply must restore Jesus as Saviour to the place where He belongs, at the heart of our Christianity. Then and only then will we, as regular Church goers, appreciate the need for, and the beauty of, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of the Forgiveness of Sins.

Perhaps now you will understand why I entitled this meditation:

A LOST SAVIOUR? ~~~~~~~~~ A MISSING SAVIOUR?

I ask you, ‘Have we lost Him, as our Saviour? If we have, when we have such beautiful liturgies and devotions, do we really miss Him as our Saviour.

Peter Clarke O.P.

ASHES -NOT FOR EATING!

   
What a temptation! And this at a most sacred and sober moment! On Ash Wednesday of all days, at the very moment of distributing the ashes! It is then that the person before me opens his or her mouth, as I reach forwards with a thick layer of ashes on my thumb…ashes to consumed?!? Surely not! Dirty ashes to be smeared on the forehead…not the Lord Jesus to be con...sumed in Holy Communion. I leave you to speculate how I’ve handled this situation on more than one occasion.
Suffice it to say that ashes do nothing to beautify our appearance. They’re not meant to. In a tradition dating back to Saint Gregory the Great, pope in the sixth century, ashes have been distributed at the commencement of the season of Lent. During this time we are to reflect on the certainty of our dying, sooner or later, and we are to repent of our sins. With the grace of God we could conjure up these sombre sentiments without our having to be daubed with ashes. Indeed, we hear from the Gospel of today that Jesus warned against the misuse of outward expressions of piety … parading good deeds in the streets to gain the admiration of others. The public distribution of ashes is meant to remind us that we, as the People of God in our very togetherness, have a fragile hold on life and that we need to repent of our collective sinfulness.
When distributing ashes I find myself in something of a dilemma. I have to choose between two formulae each of which carries a powerful message. The more familiar one is,
"Remember, man, you are dust
And to dust you shall return."
“Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return” reverberates with one tone in the ears of those of us of advanced years; with a completely different tone when heard by a young mother cradling an infant in her arms. And yet I feel good when I remember that the dust which is me has been made sacred because it has received the creative breath of God himself. I’m deeply moved by the thought that my being human means that I, yes I, am made in the image and likeness of God Himself. So much more marvellous is it that the Son of God, in becoming man, has clothed Himself in this, my dust-prone human nature and…yours…and yours…and yours!
Born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus suffered and died. Entombed in the dust of the earth, He did not become part of the dust. On the third day He rose from the dead and in so doing He defied the finality of "to dust you shall return." The Good News of the Gospel is that although in death every single one of us shall return to dust, through Jesus the dust that is ourselves will be raised to share in the glory of His resurrection.
“Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first- fruits of all who have fallen asleep… in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order; Christ the first-fruits, and next, at his coming those who belong to him,” [1 Cor. 15.20]
Thus the Church carries us from a realistic acceptance of our sorry condition, “you art dust” to the joyful celebration of our faith in Jesus,
"Dying you destroyed our death,
Rising you restored our life.
Lord Jesus, come in glory"
For me the alternative formula for the distribution of ashes is far more challenging. It reminds me that a living Christianity requires of me repentance and fidelity,
"Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."
It doesn’t come easily for any of us to repent of those things that at some time have caused us joy, brought us success and may even have defined our life-style. At the time these seductive attractions all seemed so good for us. It seems to me there’s little credit in that remorse that only occurs to us once we’ve been found out and are in danger of being shamed or even of being punished.
All of us need the grace of God to convince us that aspects of our lives that have given us satisfaction and pleasure have been highly offensive to God and that there was dust-like ugliness in their fraudulent beauty. It is the grace of God that brings home to us the awfulness of offending the God who loves us- the God whom we profess to love. In repentance we yearn to be reconciled with God and we resolve to be more faithful to Him. The Good News is that all this is possible because of Jesus dying on the cross for us and rising from the tomb for us.
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, during which our minds and hearts are prepared for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, accomplished by Jesus on the Cross and from the Tomb. Ashes on the forehead in the form of a cross express the Christian conviction that the eventual resurrection of our bodies and God’s loving forgiveness of our sins derive from our crucified and risen Lord Jesus. Our repentance makes us open to this.
"Lord, by your cross and resurrection
You have set us free.
You are the Saviour of world."
Our wanting the Church to taint our foreheads with ashes gives us plenty to chew over in our minds and in our hearts, but no reason whatsoever to open our mouths!     

Fr. Peter Clarke, O.P.

"WOULD YOU RATHER BE A FISH...?"

What a life! Get a life! That’s what it desperately wanted. That’s what it frantically sought as it made futile attempts to break free and widen its horizons. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the gold fish as it languidly,aimlessly swam round its glass globe, doing nothing more exciting than blowing bubbles as I gazed at its secure prison/ home on the window-sill opposite my room. What a boring existence, watching the world go by and not being part of the action!

Periodically the poor fish’s frustration would reach breaking point. Its patience would snap. It would summon all its energies and make a giant leap for freedom –only to crash-land panting, gasping for breath. As it lay helpless on the floor it was strand, totally out of its element. Fortunately, at that very moment, I passed by, noticed its predicament, rushed to its rescue and returned it to its watery home in the bowl. Once more it was back in its element...cramped though it was,  it could breath; it could blow bubbles. Though its life was limited, at least it was safe! True, it had to face down our cat as it sized it up as a tasty snack. But that eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation did not seem to make our goldfish neurotic.

Very different was my reaction to my tedious, drawn-out illness while working in Spode Conference Centre.   Great was my frustration during the A-Level Scripture courses. I had started them. I used to lead them. I longed to join the action. Being a tutor, working with such lively youngsters, was stimulating. And I learnt so much while teaching. Then there was the joy of making friends, joining in the lively liturgy and trying to beat the teenagers at table tennis. I really came alive during those courses!

But then illness put an end to all this –at least for a couple of years. During that time I could identify with the gold fish in its glass bowl. Both of us could gaze longingly at the world around us. By no choice of ours we were placed in this safe, but very limited environment. But neither of us could join the action. Like the gold fish, I longed to leap out, to break free. Sad to say, the result of my own attempt to escape was just the same as that of the golden fish.   Neither of us could cope with the freedom for which we both longed. Out of water the poor fish lay exhausted, gasping for breath, as it lay on the floor. The same was true for me. My attempt to become involved in the world outside the confines of my room wore me out and set back my recovery. Both the fish and I had to be put back into the limited, safe environment in which we could survive.

I had to learn and accept that this must be what God was asking of me at that time. Instead of feeling frustrated at being unable to do what I had loved I had to learn to find fulfilment in what was possible and learn to love that. That meant having to work through negative self-pity to a positive approach to life. Not an easy task. We certainly need God’s help to reach the serenity St. Paul described in his letter to the Philippians, when he wrote,

"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am," (Philip. 4. 11).

 

The same is now true with the inescapable limitation resulting from the frailty of old age. Instead of envying the vigour of the youngsters in my community, I must find fulfilment in what is still possible for me. It’s so reassuring to remind myself that Jesus achieved most –the salvation of the world –when He was helplessly nailed to the cross. The sick and frail can identify with Him, and He with us. We can even share in His work of salvation in a way impossible for healthy, active youngsters.

I think God wants the goldfish to teach me to make the best of the opportunities and situations in which I now find myself, where I can still find fulfilment within my limitations. That’s far more positive than wasting my time and energy hankering for what is no longer possible. I would only make a fool of myself if, as an octogenarian, I tried to behave like brethren young enough to be my grandchildren. 

 

Incidentally, I think we only really appreciate something when we lose it. That’s certainly true of the vigour of youth. I agree with George Bernard Shaw, when he said, "Youth is wasted on the young." Now it’s up to me to find the advantages of frailty and old age. Perhaps the youngsters are not yet ready to appreciate them!   OR US!!!!

Isidore O.P.

DREAM TEAM

Talent Scouts: eagled-eyed, sharp-eyed searchers, explorers. These are shrewd people who know a good thing when they see it…some gifted person who appears to be full of promise…a good investment…someone who is worth giving a chance with good money. This talent spotting, talent nurturing becomes big business when it comes to modern team sports. Cricket, football, basketball – to name just a few. Superbly talented persons are brought together to develop their individual skills.

 

Every manager of a sport's team – would give the world to be able to produce a Dream Team – dazzling in performance, unrivalled in successes. ‘A DREAM TEAM!’ Just think of it , ‘A DREAM TEAM! My friend Wikipedia tells me, ‘The 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, nicknamed the "Dream Team", was described by American journalists as the greatest sports team ever assembled.’ Now, the Father had sent His Son into the world to launch a project which would change the whole course of human history…nothing less than to promote and plant the Kingdom of God on earth! If He were ever to succeed in this He would surely need a ‘Dream Team’ to assist Him.

 

The obvious place to find suitably gifted recruits would surely have been Jerusalem...people fully at home with the Sacred Scriptures, devout men quick to learn and experienced in the fine arts of persuasion and teaching; also people skilled in administration and in the astute management of finances. Very different was the strategy of Jesus - strolling along the shore of the Lake of Galilee; casually preaching, healing a few and personally inviting one or two to tag along with the group that was hanging around Him. St. Luke tells us that a while later Jesus spent a night in prayer. Then He selected from these disciples a dozen of them and appointed them to be a kind of core group. It would seem that the most important thing was that they should learn to believe in Him and acquire an attachment of loyalty to Him. As for qualifications, these chosen ones were fishermen expert in the trade, one, the tax-collector, had a certain competence in financial matters. Not much for Jesus to work with here; with all their wrangling and rivalry, they did not give Jesus an easy time in forming them into a team. Their terms of reference would be to proclaim and promote to the world the Good News that is Jesus Himself; to bring to mankind the Good News of the conquest of sin and death by the crucifixion and death of Jesus; guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit they were to establish on earth the Reign of God – one of truth, life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace. Most surely a daunting task. Such a DREAM TEAM would have to be quite literally out of this world. Jesus never expected to find a Dream Team to work with, nor did He ever expect to be able to create one…glittering with talent….faultless in character. He never had that advantage…He has never granted it to us. Recently when preaching on this theme I asked my congregation in Barbados if they ever had a dream team of clergy in the diocese; a dream choir in the loft, dream organizations, groups or individuals in the parish; or, a dream team in the Vatican. To keep you happy I wish sweet dreams to one and all.

But don’t despair; don’t drown yourselves in cynicism. It’s never been a matter of what we do with our talents, which may be considerable, but what Jesus does with our talents; what He does with us through us and even for us. Unless we’re humble we might choke on these words of St. Paul, "It is not that we are so competent that we can claim any credit for ourselves; all our competence comes from God," (2 Cor. 3.5 ) If we have a very deep faith in Jesus then we shall be greatly assured that He said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing," (Jn.15.5) and we can even stand tall as we take to ourselves what St. Paul wrote to the Church of Ephesus,(2.10),  "We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designated to make up our way of life,"  

 

From all this I unravel that Jesus never expected to have a DREAM TEAM above criticism and condemnation coordinating and promoting Church’s mission of evangelization and sanctification. The very people He chose at the beginning and then His Church itself – in every aspect and dimension of its life - would always be in need of repentance and renewal.  

Only in Jesus, the Founder and Head of the Church, is to be found absolute and unquestionable perfection. And Jesus is no dream…He is for real.

Peter O.P.




　

　

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

My twin brother and I were recently ordained priests. Dad and mother decided they wanted to give us a holiday to remember before we received our posting. So they hit on the idea of us touring the glorious countryside in the family car. Dad was supremely confident he could find his way with the assistance of a road map.  But the time was bound to come when we would be lost...and so it did. Nothing to do but ask one of the ‘locals.’ What to make of his advice, “I wouldn’t start here, if I were you?”

I’m of a mind we get similar worldly-wise, bewildering, advice in politics when a member of the Opposition makes some scathing comment as he criticises the Government’s economic policy. Of course, his own party would never have been so crass as to get the country into such an economic mess, in the first place.  There’s a certain art in giving advice that sounds profound but which is absolutely useless – whether it be to a lost innocent traveller abroad, or the Chancellor of the Exchequer trying to solve the country’s economic problems.

But God shows more respect for us lost sheep, who have gone astray, for us people who walk in the valley of darkness.  He knows we don’t need telling   we should not have sinned and so made such a mess of our lives in the first place.    Instead, God comes to us where we are and helps us to get where we should be...that is en route “From Here to Eternity.” Those of a certain vintage will recognize this as the title of a certain film, which I happen not to have seen. No matter! It serves my purpose well as the title for my present ramblings. “From here to eternity” admirably sums up God’s whole plan of salvation.

He comes to us where we are –our ‘Here,’ and leads us to where we should be heading -‘Eternity’ with Him.  That’s why the Son of God entered our sin-locked world as a human baby –not to condemn us, but to save, so that we could enjoy the “glorious liberty of the children of God.” He entered our world and shared our human life, so that we people could enter His world and share His divine life.  That’s how much He loves us!

My thoughts immediately turn to three wise men, the Magi -highly respected scholars renowned for their knowledge of astrology.   Building on that interest, God used a star to guide them towards Bethlehem...   a long journey into the unknown.  When the star halted its course they came across a newly born infant, to all appearance no different from any other baby. God enabled them to make the enormous leap of faith of believing this child to be truly God.   The wise students of the stars, the Magi, believed, worshipped and welcomed this babe -the creator of heaven and earth!

Like the Magi, we are called to make a journey of discovering Christ.   God will lead each of us by a different route, depending on our backgrounds and interests.   Certainly most of us have already set out on that journey of learning to know and love Christ.  None of us has yet completed that journey, nor will we, till we see God face to face in heaven.  In the meantime we, like, the Magi must follow whatever star God uses to guide us in discovering His will for us at any particular moment.

My way of meeting God is to be sensitive to the pointers He uses to lead me from where I am at the moment to eternity with Him.   The same must be true for you.

Isidore O.P.

Peter and Isidore wish our readers every blessing for the New Year

The next posting will be on 17th Jan.

GETTING IN FOCUS

 

Isidore, my twin brother, and I joined the Dominicans in 1950. How clueless we were about what we were getting into! Coming straight from Grammar School we were prepared for everything and prepared for nothing. Our attitude was that we would ‘give it a go’ and see where it led us.

First surprise - for reasons known only to God and to our Novice Master - we had to dip our two feet into a basin of water and then make wet foot-prints on the polished floor. These were closely examined to see if any of the candidates to the Order were flat-footed! Could it have been that in those days God’s flat-footed children would have obviously been disqualified from becoming good preachers?!  Anyway, after more than sixty years we’re still preaching. Twin Isidore reminds me of the famous musings of the prophet Isaiah,” How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation,” Isaiah 52:7.

A feat beyond compare for both of us to be accepted into THE ORDER BECAUSE OF OUR BEAUTIFUL FEET…!”  And now I ask myself WHO NOSE what is the criterion for the other great Religious Orders in accepting new candidates? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
With a return to sanity the Novice Master had us candidates get our eyes tested. With honest realism the optician advised Isidore and me that our eye-sight was so poor that we’d best forget pursuing a bookish career and consider working on the land!  The powers-that–be ignored this advice; and so did we twins.  Through a mixture of foolish stubbornness and being well-focused in our determination we have persisted in preaching to this day.  For me personally there was a price to pay -  headaches, blackouts and even nose-bleeds as I glued my student eyes to the printed page.
For me everything depends on being well-focused.  Our focus was becoming and remaining Dominicans was of supreme importance to us…something we couldn’t to do without…something that demanded hard work and persistence....and still does! We had set our hearts on a life-determining, life-shaping, goal. I put it down  to an urge and a surge to become and remain Dominicans.

My Christmas thought is that the shepherds and the Magi had this urge and surge. They put aside all else and made their way to the stable outside Bethlehem. They had to discover for themselves ‘What child is this?’ that a choir of angels or a moving star had provoked them to seek out...to pay him honour.

As for that nasty man, Herod, he had a devilishly sharp focus.  Word soon reached him that these Magi were going through Jerusalem asking the whereabouts of the ‘infant king of the Jews.’ Such a child would have been an obvious threat to the royal family of King Herod. The possibility of this coming to anything had to be snuffed out, IMMEDIATELY!  Herod’s focus of having this ‘rival’ tracked down was as sharp as the tip of a sword.  The outcome …the Massacre of the Holy Innocents!

What does ‘bringing this season into sharp focus’ say to you and to me? Surely our being very clear what is the ‘must-have’ about Christmas that has the greatest importance for us; then having the stubborn determination not  to let  anything prevent us from enjoying it.
Look  at this time of the year! So much agitated activity.  The very air seems to be crackling with intensity and bustling excitement. Mostly everywhere is decorated with ‘all things bright and beautiful.’ Pounding music all but bursts our eardrums!  Many would think it stupid to ask, ‘Why all the ‘tra-la-la?’ Their instant reply would be, ‘Who needs a pretext, an excuse, for having a good time?’

Others would chime in, ‘Jesus is the reason for the season.’  And the reply would surely be, ‘That may be your reason, but it’s not mine, nor that of most other people!’   From within this  mêlée  of swirling messages and enthusiasms  I sense an urgent need to pluck out of this confused mixture of moods and messages the golden nugget of radiant, dazzling truth…such as “In a nutshell Christmas is …; the nitty-gritty of Christmas is…; or “Stripped down to the bare bones Christmas is all about  shepherds and Magi – their  sharp focus, my sharp focus, discovering the Child in the manger...Jesus, the Son of Mary, Jesus the Son of  God.”

We Christians have seen these past few as a build-up to Christmas – the celebration of the Son of God being born into our world – the human family.

In this lies godswaymyway for me, you, and many more, to have a deeply spiritual and enjoyable Christmas. God has brought me to see the pressing need for us to get Christmas into clear, sharp focus.  Without this sharp Christmas focus, how on earth are we going to fulfill our Christian duty and privilege of   ‘telling it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born?’

Peter Clarke O.P.

Peter and Isidore wish all our readers and their families  every blessing  for Christmas and the New Year