Happy New Year

 Many times "stuff" gets in the way of what is really important.  When that "stuff" disappears then we are left with the gifts of who we are and who we are to one another.  Then the real giving begins.  We can get wrapped up, no pun intended, in all the externals we miss out on that which is essential. We now can reveal the wonderful gift that is within, which is the presence of our God.  It is this presence, within, that Jesus came to reveal to us. It is in the sacred gift of our common humanity that each and every moment our God is revealed to us. Each and every moment we come to appreciate a revelation of God that comes to us through those people God has gifted us with.  Sometimes it takes the x-ray eye of faith and other times it takes the MRI of faith to see the goodness of God dwelling within some people in our lives.  It is ever and always present. At this time,  we are given the opportunity to renew our belief that God is with us and within us.  He is Emanuel, and so because of His promise will never be able to desert us. 

Thornton Wilder has written "You can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." So this year when there is less of the outside treasures to distract us, let us take time to enjoy the wonder-full gift of wonder, which each one of us has been gifted with. This gift will lead us into the mystery of who we are as God's dwelling place. Let us reverence the mystery of each other, which will lead us to a deeper appreciation of the mystery of the Incarnation.

The crib was not just a picture,  it was not just a scene in a church, but the crib is now, alive and well within each one of us.  So my New Year wish for you, is for you to gift yourself the time to discover all those who show up in the crib scene and see these as a living reality within yourself. Who is the angel in your life who reveals to you,  that like Mary, you are full of Grace, in other words of your essence you are deeply loved. Now who are the angels who encourage you to rejoice because a Savior has come for you, who will be revealed in weakness.  We rejoice because we have discovered and embraced the shepherds within.  The shepherds, in Jesus' time, were the outcasts of society. They were looked down on and rejected, they became the first receptors of the Good News. Who is the shepherd within us that needs to hear the Good News, a Shepherd Savior has come and is looking for us. He will never rest until he finds us. 
 
That's why Merton has said, "Be who we were already are." Unless we take time to reflect on that wonder-full gift of the Christ child within us,  we will always be looking outside for that which is always on the inside. 

             

Hoping you had a Blessed Christmas, Epiphany Season and will go on to have a  Happy and Prosperous New Year. Go forward knowing that you are the reality in which the Incarnation continues.  May you to be a living light in the place your God has placed you.  God Bless and the best of Irish luck to you.