“It is enough, the now, and though it comes without anything, it gives me everything. With it I can repopulate the world. I can bring forth new worlds in underground shelters while the bombs are dropping above; I can do it in lifeboats as the ship goes down; I can do it in prisons without the guard’s permission; and O, when I do it quietly in the lobby while the conference is going on, a lot of states-men will emerge twirling their moustaches, and see the birth blood, and know they have been foiled.

Love is strong as death.”

Elizabeth Smart (1913 – 1986), Canadian writer, born on this day

“Hush now. The wounds run deep,
but the bees are full of knowing.
They know the hive of your heart,
each crooked curled chamber
each hopeful hidden curve,
each darkened holding cell.
They have come with wings and song and pollen.
They have come to harvest each mistake
each broken vessel, to touch the jagged edges
of betrayal and lost chances,
to collect your failures one by one,
making honey from the bitter
making music in the void
making wings where there were wounds.
Hush now. Sleep well.
The night is alive with forgiveness
and your heart is a hive
made for honey made for love.”

Angi Sullins

Christmas Day

“Sing a new song to the Holy One
with all the names and none.
Proclaim our joy and thanksgiving
for creation, for life, for growth, for love.
Turn your face to the light.
Rejoice in God.
Worship God in the beauty of holiness;
let the whole earth tremble in awe.
Call out—
There’s this beautiful world
and all the life in it
and there’s the rule of law in our hearts
and Love at the heart of it All.

The heavens rejoice
The earth dances
The seas roil with life
The fields are glad
The trees of the wood shout for joy.”

Psalm 96 reimagined by Christine Robinson

“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!
sleep in Heavenly peace!

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from Heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Silent night! Holy night!

Son of God, Love’s pure light
radiant, beams from Thy Holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.”

Silent Night Christmas Carol, composed by Franz Gruber, first sung at St Nikolaus Parish Church, Oberndorf, Austria, on this day in 1818

Window at St. Nikolaus Church

“Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later, and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.”

Henri Nouwen

“The universe is composed of subjects to be communed with, not objects to be exploited. Everything has its own voice. Thunder and lightning and stars and planets, flowers, birds, animals, trees – all these have voices, and they constitute a community of existence that is profoundly related.”

Thomas Berry

Winter Solstice

“Great Lady and Lord of the turning wheel of the year’s seasons, by whom the light returns, I call to you. Now, at the darkest time, when all of nature is still and cold, the change is made. There is a pause, as though between breaths, all nature waits, and then – the dawn comes early! There is rebirth of light and we begin again. Let hope and joyfulness be reborn, therefore, in all hearts. And let none be lonely. Let all see, as new light grows, how we may live peacefully and in shared happiness. Let war cease. Let us make a world fit for children.”

Winter Solstice Prayer by Rae Beth

International Human Solidarity Day

“All of us have monarchs and sages for kinsmen; nay, angels and archangels for cousins; since in antediluvian days, the sons of God did verily wed with our mothers, the irresistible daughters of Eve. All generations are blended: and heaven and earth of one kin: the hierarchies of seraphs in the uttermost skies; the thrones and principalities in the zodiac; the shades that roam throughout space; the nations and families flocks and folds of the earth; one and all – brothers in essence – oh, be we then brothers indeed! All things form but one whole.”

Herman Melville (1819 – 1891), writer, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens published on this day in 1843

International Migrants Day

“People come here penniless but not cultureless. They bring us gifts. We can synthesize the best of our traditions with the best of theirs. We can teach and learn from each other.”

Mary Pipher