Category: Reflections (page 16)

It is easy to walk away to our Christmas celebrations and leave the Holy Family in the darkened Church and history. But, if we do that, we cheat them, ourselves, and God.

More powerfully than any priest, bishop, or pope, Mary witnessed the reality of consecration through the Incarnation, “This is my body, and this is my blood.”

We have joy. It is ours. It is a gift from God. But we must tend it.

One thing is for sure though, it does not help to push back the feelings of sadness, pretending they are not there. Trying to mask the feelings that weigh us down with a happy face only deepens the feelings of isolation and sorrow. 

I cannot even count the number of times in my own life that I have said or heard others say, “How could God have allowed that to happen?”

Sometimes, the hardest part is looking up to see the Son of Man when all we know is hurt. But if we can force ourselves, in the moments of hurt, to look up, Jesus will be there.

Giving is an attitude of the heart. It is trusting that open hands will always trump closed fists.

This quality of agapao is not an emotion. It is an action initiated by a choice of will. It is deciding and choosing to love. 

We are called to respond with the same graciousness and generosity as the Giver of all gifts.