Soul Scribe

No one is really happy merely because he has what he wants, but only if he wants things he ought to want.

St. Augustine

And for us this is the end of all the stories.  All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on Earth has read…in which every chapter is better than the one before.

C. S. Lewis
The Last Battle,
Chronicles of Narnia

Broken things are precious. We eat broken bread because we share in the death of our Lord and his broken life. Broken flowers give perfume. Broken incense is used in adoration. A broken ship saved Paul and many other passengers on the way to Rome. Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

God calls us to lead lives of holiness.  Jesus gave the most perfect example with his own life.  But he gave us other examples of holiness in his own mother, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.

Saints are people to whom we can relate, essentially role models for the faithful.  Saints do not forget those of us on Earth.  They follow Jesus’ commandment to “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39) even after death.  In following this, saints pray intensely for those of us on Earth.  And thank goodness, because we really need it!

While we ask saints for help, it is by God that our prayers are answered.  Saints help us at the request of Jesus and through God’s power.  When you pray to a saint, you’re not worshiping that saint.  You’re asking for the saint to pray for you and ask God to help you.

God is the one acting in our lives, not the saints.  They’re just the messengers showing us the way to reach the Lord.

If we pray, we will believe.
If we believe, we will love.
If we love, we will serve.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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 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.