Soul Scribe

An angel of the Lord stood over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people.

Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’

And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace for those he favours.

Luke 2:9-14

New Jerusalem Bible

 Christmas is not just a day, an event to be observed and speedily forgotten. It is a spirit which should permeate every part of our lives.

William Parks

The words of wise men are heard in quiet.

Ecclesiastes 9:17

God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.

C.S. Lewis

You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love at which we do them.

St. Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower (1873-1897)

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi

The gift of life is what God bestowed on us.  He created us to live.  Each time we make a choice that ends this gift, it is a thorn in the temple of the Lord.  We are piercing his heart over and over with our choices.  Respecting God’s gift is a sacred duty that we must uphold.

For Christians, the Christmas holiday is a reminder of this gift of life.  The birth of Jesus in this world was a gift to humanity – an everlasting gift of new life that welcomed us to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

And for Jews, Hanukkah (Chanukkah) is a celebration of the gift of life as well – an everlasting reminder of the miracle of the light and the gift of new life by God in the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Even for Buddhists, Bodhi day is a celebration of the gift of life – the experience of enlightenment for the historical Buddha and the gift of new life in Nirvana.

No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.  You eye is the lamp of your body.  If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness.

Luke 11:33-34

New Revised Standard Version

Keep watching the wind and you will never sow, keep staring at the clouds and you will never reap.

Ecclesiastes 11:4

New Jerusalem Bible

God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.

We need silence to be able to touch souls.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta