In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
OPENING PRAYER
In this time of pandemic when a new darkness has covered the earth, we pray for all the sick, for their carers, and for those who deliver medicines and vaccines; may they always be led by the light of Christ, whom our Heavenly Father sent to Bethlehem to heal the world.
SCRIPTURE
Read from the Gospel of St John 1:1-18:
‘All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower’.
At our baptism, we are given a candle, with the words. ‘Receive the light of Christ…walk always as a child of the light’. And this is from where light comes: a lowly stable. It is a light, that through our words and lives, can become radiant too in the lives of all those we meet.
ADMIRABILE SIGNUM
Pope Francis tells us,
‘We can think of all those times in our lives when we have experienced the darkness of night. Yet even then, God does not abandon us, but is there to answer our crucial questions about the meaning of life. Who am I? Where do I come from? Why was I born at this time in history? Why do I love? Why do I suffer? Why will I die? It was to answer these questions that God became man. His closeness brings light where there is darkness and shows the way to those dwelling in the shadow of suffering’.
CLOSING PRAYER
May Christ whose glory fills the skies fill you with his light, scatter the darkness from your path, gladden your eyes, warm your heart and guide your feet into the way of peace, this Christmas and always. Amen.
ACTIVITY
If you are able, go for a walk in the open air, or sit at a window looking at the sky, or listen to the birds singing. Thank God for all his blessings.