Calm and bright

A message from Vice President Fr Anthony Casamento csma.

Ok, let’s not kid ourselves. If you are like me, December can feel like chaos. Lots of catching up with friends and family, Christmas gifts to buy and give, never-ending to-do lists, Christmas parties, and the pressure to create the perfect Christmas. Yet amid this chaos, the Church gives us the Season of Advent - an opportunity to find peace during this busy time.

One of my favourite carols in the lead up to Christmas is Silent Night. Take a close look at the first words of this famous work: “Silent Night! Holy Night! All is calm, all is bright...” One of the reasons that this carol is so universally loved is the way it invites us into the still centre of the Christmas story, to contemplate Mary holding the new-born Jesus, the Light of the World. The angelic messages we encounter in the biblical story of Jesus’ birth typically hold together the need for calm in the present (“Do not be afraid” … “Fear not”) with the hope of a bright future (“for you have found favour with God” … “for behold I bring you tidings of great joy”).

So, this year, throughout Advent, let’s try to focus on how to find calm during this busy period in the lead up to Christmas. Remember, Advent looks forward to when God will indeed come down and sort everything out. It is a penitential season – a time for us to consider the changes we need to make in our lives to restore calm and brightness in ourselves and in those we love. One way you might do this is to place a nativity scene in a prominent place in your home or workplace to remind you of the calm and brightness of that moment when God entered humanity in the person of Jesus Christ.

Advent points us back to when God did come down, not in a show of strength, but in the appearance of a helpless infant. God gets involved in the messiness of our human experience and in doing so, reminds us that with Him, all is calm, all is bright.