Hope is born!

"When Jesus Christ is born in me, hope burns brightly and everything else fades into twilight."

Brennan Manning, "Reflections for Ragamuffins"

Faith, hope and love. We hear about the virtues and, for me, faith and love are so much clearer to recognize than hope. Hope is born at Christmas. When all else seems to be coming apart at the seams, it is hope that can move us forward. A few years ago, when the economy began tumbling down, there was hope that it would turn around. When someone is diagnosed with an illness, we cling to hope that they can recover. When one door closes to us, we have hope that something new and wonderful may be just around the corner. Hope keeps us going, giving us the will and strength to move one foot before the other. At Christmas time, we remember, thus re-birth Jesus into our world. We make Jesus present, right here, right now (remember Sr. Kathleen's lesson?) Jesus, made present anew, gives us a fresh dose of hope. The days are moving toward the shortest day of the year, when darkness seems to envelop us. We have hope that as soon as Sunday or Monday, there will be another minute of daylight in our day! The time of darkness will ebb away, minute by minute and light will linger! Hope. I guess it isn't so hard to recognize after all. Love, heidi