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This week’s Advent reflection is a poem by Sister Mary Carton, IBVM:
We need a sense of Christmas.
A sense that peace is possible
From the inside out, if not from the outside in.
There is war, and the world is divided on the necessity of it all,
The nations of the Holy Land battle over land
Which symbolizes so much security
But not the message of any of the holy.
We need the light of Hanukkah,
Not the glaring of bombs.
We need the fasting of Ramadan,
Not the glut of fear or power.
We need the manger essentials,
Not greed or more or most.
We need a sense of Christmas when there is no sense in the news
We need a sense of Christmas when we are called
To be non-violent messengers,
Wise people, peace-bringers,
We need to get back a sense of Christmas
A sense that in poverty and starlight,
In the wide range of earth’s people,
In a world in turmoil,
We will find sheltering friendship,
We will know interior joy,
We will experience, despite many questions,
Long awaited, long advented, peace.