The joy of Christmas is different from that of any other festival of Our Blessed Lord, for in all the others there is an element of suffering.  The Wise Man’s gift of myrrh at the Epiphany foretold his burial; the Feast of the Presentation has its reminder of the sword which was to pierce his Mother’s heart on Calvary; the joy of Easter is the joy of victory won at the cost of agony.  And at the Ascension the hands which Christ holds up in blessing on the Mount of Olives bear the imprint of the nails.

But the joy of Christmas is pure and unalloyed: the peace is one which the sin and rebellion of man has not scarred; the shadow of the Cross falls just short of the stable door.

So throughout the world, even among many who do not profess to follow him, the celebration of his Birth in Bethlehem has awakened festive merriment.  For the light that streams from the manger has shone to the far corners of the Earth; and even the darkness of this troubled world cannot hide the face of the Holy Babe.

May we for our part gain a deeper understanding of his love for us which shall in turn evoke in us a deeper love for him.