The cliches and platitudes come a-rolling these days. But behind all that there is something extraordinary about next Tuesday. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and for us Christians that's the link or key that propels us into a new orbit. There is somehow or other more to this mortal coil than we realise. That can be difficult to comprehend or understand. Once we try giving it names and shapes it is so easy to create our own gods. The smugness of what follows that type of thinking is difficult to take - at least for me.
I called to see an elderly Dominican in a nursing home last evening. We prayed Compline together. It was a great moment of grace and a fitting way to celebrate the upcoming feast.
On December 30 we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. We don't choose our parents or our siblings. Everyone has his or own story. There is no fammily template.
The lines from Ecclesiasitcus, "Long life comes to him who honours his father, he who sets his mother at ease is showing obedience to the Lord', are comforting lines.
Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.
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3 comments:
Michael,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts via this blog during the last six months or so.
The juxtaposition of these two sentences in the current piece is interesting:
On December 30 we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. We don't choose our parents or our siblings.
What is it that links these two sentences?
TMcC
Maybe it is that too often people talk about the 'perfect' family and yet there is not a family template. But more too I suppose.
I recall how a former vocations'director spoke about how the Dominican Order is like a family. I was startled by such a comparison. More startled today when I hear such language.
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