Today's Encouragement

Rejoice in hope

Be patient in suffering

Persevere in prayer

Romans 12:12

Christmas: Musings on a Wednesday and a Poem 

This last weekend Nutmeg and I went shopping for a Christmas gift in old bookshop. A group of carolers from the "baby boomer" generation were gathering to practice in the shop before going out on the streets to sing. Nutmeg loved it! The leader of the group paused for a moment for a brief moment of "encouragement" for the group. She said something along the lines of "You never know who we will touch. Some of the older people will think that this is always what it was like but its not, they've forgotten. And you know, we do this for the children. We want them to think this is what Christmas will always be like." 

I'm thinking "What?! Did she just say what I think she said?!" Seriously? Ack! Is Christmas just a show where we try to trick ourselves into feeling happy/festive for a few short weeks every year? We'll give it our best shot so that at least the kids can have fun for a few years? Then they'll grow up, wise up to the sad reality, but then in turn put on the show for their own children. Boy, that really stinks!

I'm the first to admit that I love the season. I love the music, the decorations, the good feeling of it all. I love the magic of Christmas! But yes, like most of us, I have experienced the After-Christmas-Letdown. I have gotten sucked into mere "good feelings" associated with Christmas. I've let it overshadow the timeless beauty of the babe; our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Last year our family was in a hard place. This year we are in another hard place. I'm sure many of us are in a place that is less than sparkly, comfortable, and cheery. We do not have to put on a "show" and try to get into that happy place that our culture tells us is all important. We really can have JOY! We CAN have more than a cozy feeling that dissipates December 26! There is the possibility a gift that can be renewed over and over again: HOPE. A multitude of unbreakable, never boring gifts: FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE. All from the source of Jesus. 

I write this not to preach out into cyberspace. I say this out loud hoping the echoes will seep into my own heart. Be still my heart and rest in the peace of Jesus. While I'm reminding myself of all of this, I'll be reminding my children as well. I will do my best to show them where the real happiness joy is found. They'll know its not easy but possible.  

Anyhow, all this babbling came because of this poem I just read with the kiddos. I found it embodies what I'm trying to say. I hope you may find it worth your time reading. 

Christmas Bells

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come, 

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Til, ringing, singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South

And with that sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will toward men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

 And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will toward men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Hope


"It is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in my own life, or the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for. Only the certitude of hope that my own life and history in general, despite all failure, are held firm by the indestructible power of God's Love, and that this gives them their meaning and importance, only this kind of hope can give the courage to act and to persevere."

-Benedict XVI

What is happiness?

"The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity."

(CCC 1818)



Our attempt at a translation for 6 (almost 7) year old boys:

God put a desire for happiness in all our hearts. But God wants to take that desire to be happy and make it much more. He wants to turn it into hope. Hope looks to the kingdom of God and heaven to be happy. Hope helps us when we are discouraged, it helps us when we feel lonely, and helps us look forward to happiness in heaven forever. If we are lost in an ocean of sadness, hope is our life raft. This life-boat lifts us up out of selfishness, "I want to go buy something to make me happy. It's all about me."  It leads us to a real happiness that comes from love (charity).

This Month's Virtue: Hope


"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs, is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."

Matthew 5:3-12

"Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes. The beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the "hope that does not disappoint." Hope is the "sure and steadfast anchor of the soul" . . .that enters  . . . where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf."

(CCC 1821)