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Those who hope in the Lord “will run and not grow weary.” We might have trouble believing these words when we’re running in a hundred different directions trying to get everything done. It’s hard not to get caught up in the frenetic activity of the season. We want this kind of boundless energy. We can find it by keeping God as our central priority and reminding ourselves that life will go on and people will still love us, even if our errands go unfinished. Cross something off today’s list and write in God instead.

Christmas can become a celebration of artifice and manufactured wonders. From the dangling icicle lights along the roofline to the inflatable cartoon characters on suburban lawns, we run the risk of treating this holiday as a time of one-upping not only the neighbors but also God. But we know deep down that no factory in China can produce something as wonderful as the tiniest miracle in God’s creation.

Pope Francis reminds us that the hallmark of a Christian should be joy and peace, even in the midst of difficult times. We can become discouraged by the state of the world, the squabbling in our families, the economic difficulties we face, and even the dissension and scandals in our church. We need frequent reminders that God still has the world in his hands, even if we can’t always see it. The world of first-century Palestine, the world into which Jesus was born, had its own conflicts and strife. But Jesus brought hope and peace to his world, and he continues to bring the same to ours.

It’s well known that Saint Nicholas, a sixth-century bishop, is behind our use of the secular “icon” of Christmas, Santa Claus. The legends of Nicholas involve his generosity to those in need. 

Every change of mind is first of all a change of heart, and if the heart does not change, new ideas do not last long. We all “know the mystery of salvation by the forgiveness of sin,” as Saint Luke said (1:77), because forgiveness is not something God does, it is who God is. There is probably no other way to understand God’s nature except to daily stand under the waterfall of divine mercy and then become conduits of the same flow.

As we begin the season, we reflect on words from the pope about the joy of Advent and Christmas. Pope Francis sums up the heart of Christian joy in three actions: “Pray, give thanks, help others.” If we take these words to heart and bring them to life in our everyday lives, we, too, will discover the joy of Advent, a joy that we can take with us through the new year.

Saint Francis could have become a carnival sideshow all by himself if he had failed to foster an attitude of humility. Whatever good we accomplish is due much more to God’s grace and mercy than to our talents and cleverness. This spirit prompted Francis to keep his stigmata a secret as best he could. Many people probably would have given Francis too much credit and God too little credit for this unique gift.

We may read volumes and volumes on the art of swimming, yet we’ll never understand what swimming is like unless we get wet. So we may read all the books ever written on the love of God and never understand loving unless we love. Where love is genuine, belonging is always mutual. It is like submerging ourselves into an ocean of sublime grace.

I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from clinging to its own security.

My hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving. 

Since every thing, every person, every situation comes from God, the whole world is Word by which we can live. We need only “taste and see how good God is.” We do this with all our senses. Through whatever we taste or touch, smell, hear, or see, God’s love can nourish us. For the one creating and redeeming Word is spelled out to us in ever new ways.

God, who is love, has nothing else to say in all eternity but “I love you.”