Photo taken in Larchmont, NY.

Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

[Lyrics from Silent Night written by Fr. Josephus Mohr in 1816]

This Christmas classic was written to inspire hope and bring much needed relief when Fr. Josephus’ Austrian town had been decimated by 12 years of war and had suffered undue hardship from crop failures and famine. The world also suffered greatly from the latter, because 1816 was the “Year without a Summer.”

Some things never change...

Today the world again suffers from war, devastation from climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic that is in its third year. While 2022 marked new beginnings for most countries with re-openings, restored intimacy and social relationships and the easing of the pandemic, this is not the case for the entire world. :( We must remember the people of China who are right now enduring a dark holiday season gripped by COVID-19 and the parts of the world where peoples struggle in the cold and live in rubble with the next day not assured, victim to war and violence because of the absence of empathy from their leaders who choose war, power and intransigence over peace, goodwill and compromise. Nevertheless, may this holiday season bring much needed renewal and the new year bring peace, prosperity, goodwill, health and happiness.

Note: The Nativity Clipart comes from a free image available in Clipart Library.