23/12/2021

The tone of the nativity and the events leading up to it as told by Luke has the quality of a long remembered folk tale. Zachariah's return to speech following the naming of his son is "talked about by all the villagers of the hill country of Judaea". All the people remembered the birth of John as something accompanied by a wonderful manifestation of the power of God.

There is no reflection by Luke as to what the Incarnation and Nativity really are. That reflection is to be found in John the Evangelist. Luke, as do the shepherds, reports what was experienced and seen by the witnesses in Bethlehem.

I try everyday to reflect on the Word and try to understand how the work of God is manifest in our world today. I look for it in the Church. She seems no more than any other powerful human institution. People are arguing about language and rite. Where is the Love in traditionalists' love of the language of the Roman  Empire. Jesus had the last word there and it for sure wasn't in Latin. 

Holiness is as remote from the Orders dedicated to poverty and prayer as it is from the street of any major town or city. I remember meals at a Benedictine house. The food was of a quality and amount to feed all the homeless of the nearby city. Lap-tops bring the world into the monastic cell and in some horrific cases they bring unbelievable wickedness with them.

Dear Lord help me to keep my heart and mind tuned into your grace and let Our Lady and all the saints protect by their prayers my family and all humanity especially the grandmother who saved her grand children from the tornado. Your touch is with her this day.