The Thrill of Hope
One of my favorite lines from the Christmas hymn “O Holy Night” is: “the thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices…” This year I find myself reflecting with gratitude on the hope that the Incarnation of our Lord brought 2000+ years ago to all humanity and brings to me and you and all of our loved ones today – the hope of eternal life. After all the cookies are eaten, and gifts are unwrapped, and the memories of the festive celebrations are images on our photos and in our minds, what remains is the hope that is at the heart of our Christmas celebrations. In Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, we have the hope of freedom from the slavery of sin, the promise of the peace of the Kingdom, and the pledge of eternal glory in the life to come. What greater gift is there than that. What greater cause for rejoicing than this truth! Let us all ask the Holy Spirit to allow us to experience this “thrill of hope” that the Nativity of the Lord brings in a new and deeper way this year.Because there is only so much multi-tasking I can handle without sacrificing my own peace and sanity, I’ll be jumping off the grid for a few weeks and will return to blogging on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – January 15, 2015. Please sign up for new posts so you don’t miss anything when I return – I have some ideas for a series on the Blessed Mother entitled: Love Beyond all Telling as well as a book club to study Father Lawrence Lovasik’s The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls Who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time and more. In the meantime, I pray that you and your
