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December 22, 2020
Dear Friends,
For many of us, this pandemic has felt like a long, endless winter night. I am reminded of the Chronicles of Narnia, where the White Witch ruled over a land where "it was always winter but never Christmas." But when Aslan came, spring returned to Narnia. So too, for Mary and Joseph, the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a hard, cold journey. They too may have been tempted to lose hope, to panic, especially when no one would or could open their doors to them when Mary's time had come. It was hard times. Yet in the midst of the cold night, the angel voice rang out: "Unto you is born this day a Saviour ... Glory to God in the highest and peace to God's people on earth.”
We live in that uncomfortable space between the minor key of the pandemic and the major key of the joy of the birth of Christ. This beautiful song, “Winter Cold Night” by John Foley, S.J. echoes this understanding of where we’ve been this year and the upcoming joy of the birth of the Christ Child both in the lyrics below and in the melody as it modulates from minor to major and back again:
"Dark, dark, the winter cold night, lu-lee-lay.
Hope is hard to come by, lu-lee-lay.
Hard, hard the journey tonight, lu-lee-lay.
Star, guide, hope, hide our poor, winter cold night.
And on Earth Peace,Goodwill among men.
Lean, lean, the livin' tonight, lu-lee-lay.
Star seems darker sometimes, lu-lee-lay.
Unto you is born this day a Savior.
Pain, yes, in the bornin' tonight, lu-lee-lay.
Star, guide, hope, hide our poor,
Winter cold night."
Yet now is the time for real hope grounded in our faith in the Risen Lord. In an interview I watched with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and President of Caritas Internationalis, I was inspired by these words “I think the problems and the sufferings of this year will even help us focus on the message of hope and Christmas. What is it? It is God who comes to us. We will never be alone. Emmanuel: God with us. … So I hope we, all of us, could live every moment, every day of our lives, at peace with God, at peace with our neighbours. Let us not postpone the good things that we could do now, little acts: a simple act of kindness, a little act of justice, a simple phone call, a smile, a remembrance because you might not have another chance to do it… [And for the New Year] I wish that people will have the strength, the hope, the faith and the joy to make the New Year brighter. We cannot wait for outside factors to change. Maybe they will not change. But we can change our outlook and that will make the New Year brighter: our hope, our solidarity, our joy.”
So may the light of Christ shine in our darkness, especially this year!
On behalf of all of us at the Office for English Pastoral Services, I wish you a peaceful, joy-filled, if intimate, and safe Christmas.
Father Raymond Lafontaine, E.V.
Top row, l-r: Cynthia, Kim (Social Action Office), Corey
Middle, l-r: Eric, Isabel (Mission Jeunesse), Katerine (Diocesan Centre for Marriage, Life and Family, DCMLF)
Bottom, l-r: Ellen (DCMLF), Fr. Raymond, Cathie (SASMAD-Pastoral Home Care Services)
Thumbnail insert: Martina
Absent: Wendy, Lucie (Faith Education), and Terrel (Pillars Trust Fund)
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Winter Cold Night by John Foley, S.J.
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Cardinal Tagle: Christmas 2020 in the pandemic
is calling for solidarity
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