Dear friends and family, as we hold hands in this silent night,

Christmas is a time of wonder and delight for our children, unless you are those we see in bombed war zones we see on the news. We search for a place to ignore the heaviness of heart that invades our adult lives as we juxtapose the scene onto the relative safety of our own lives. How do we celebrate the holidays this year when viewing heartbreaking scenes of two children holding hands sitting in the rubble of their bombed out neighborhood. It strikes me that they were doing what any of us must do to live in a world of violence and destruction. Do what children do, simply hold onto each other. 

As adults who may struggle to get past the fear of human touch, we seek family and friends whose take on things matches ours. Rational conversation escapes us in the face of gut wrenching scenes that make the holiday cheer we seek seem so out of place. So we find ourselves seeking a deeper understanding of the Christmas message. We find a simple one that has always been there behind the tinsel and noise. This night in which we live is a silent one, and yes, a holy one. It is one where we find each other and hold hands.

As we provide the joy and wonder of Christmas time for our children, what messages of hope and joy can we rescue from the holiday excitement children enkindle that can let us into their world? Protecting ourselves from news reports only offers a pretense that all is well and is as it should be. Our choice seems to be to either ignore or engage the world in which we live. Is respectful conversation about the state of our world possible as we consider how to be with friends and relatives? Can we rescue some holiday cheer from the daily narrative of discord that invades our lives? I propose that the task before us is a sacred one that asks us to be thoughtful and respectful as we listen to each other and remember that we share the blessings and challenges of life together. May kindness find a home among us again.

May you and those you especially love find peace and kindness during these holidays. As we come together as family, friends and spiritual sojourners, may the Christmas proclamation of the birth of Jesus, a brother to all people be welcomed among us. That’s the message. He lives  among us. Find him there behind every joy filled and heartbreaking moment of our lives. 

With loving kindness,
Br. Joseph Kilikevice, OP