Monday, December 4th:
The Sacrament of Christmas
I make an act of faith toward all mankind,
Where doubts would linger and suspicions brood.
I make an act of joy toward all sad hearts,
Where laughter pales and tears abound.
I make an act of strength toward feeble things,
Where life grows dim and death draws near.
I make an act of trust toward all life,
Where fears preside and distrusts keep watch.
I make an act of love toward friend and foe,
Where trust is weak and hate burns bright.
I make a deed to God of all my days
And look out on life with quiet eyes.
Tuesday, December 5th:
Meaning of Christmas
The true meaning of Christmas is expressed in the
sharing of one’s graces in a world in which it is so easy
to become callous, insensitive and hard. Once this spirit
becomes part of a man’s life, every day is Christmas, and
every night is freighted with anticipation of the dawning
of fresh, and perhaps holy, adventure.
Wednesday, December 6th:
This Is the Season of Promise
Let the bells be silenced
Let the gifts be still born
Let the cheer be muted
Let the music be soundless
Violence stalls the land;
Soaring above the cry of the dying
Rising above the whimper of the starving
Floating above the flying machines of death
Listen to the long stillness;
New life is stirring
New dreams are on the wing
New hopes are being readied;
Mankind is fashioning a new heart
Mankind is forging a new mind
God is at work.
This is the Season of Promise.
Thursday, December 7th:
The Season of Remembrance
Again and again, it comes;
The Time of Recollection,
The Season of Remembrance.
Empty vessels of hope fill up again;
Forgotten treasures of dreams reclaim their place;
Long-lost memories come trooping back to me.
This is my season of remembrance,
My time of recollection.
Into the challenge of my anguish
I thrown the strength of all my hope;
I match the darts of my despair with the treasures of my dreams;
Upon the current of my heart
I float the burdens of the years;
I challenge the mind of death with my love of life.
Such to me is the Time of Recollection,
The season of Remembrance.
Friday, December 8th:
Christmas Is the Season of Affirmation
I affirm my faith in the little graces of life;
The urgency of growth, the strength of laughter,
the vitality of friendship.
I affirm my confidence in the dignity of man;
His fortitude in despair, his strength in weakness,
his love in hatred.
I affirm my joy in the experience of living:
The fragrance of nostalgia, the scattered moments of delight,
the exhilaration of danger.
I affirm my need of my fellows;
The offering of faiths, the gift of variety,
the quality of difference.
I affirm my hunger for God:
The desire for fulfillment, the ache for understanding,
the sense of peace.
CHRISTMAS IS MY SEASON OF AFFIRMATION.
