My Beloved Son

Listen! The silence of the inner life is pierced by heavenly music! The English poet, John Keats, recorded this: "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter." The ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, understood the muted harmony as coming from the earth, sun, moon, and stars; all moving together in elegant mathematical permutations to create celestial melodies throughout the cosmos. The 17th century German mathematician and astronomer, Johannes Kepler, saw no conflict between science and religion. The devout Kepler perceived God's glory through musical intervals, defining planetary movement. St Francis of Assisi heard and sang, too, along with all creatures of our God and King. With the unheard music of God as accompaniment, a mysterious door opens into the inner life when we ask: "What is my purpose? What part do I sing?" Psalm 8 answers that God invites us to join the choir by allowing him to embrace us: When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, The moon and the stars that you set in place, What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet, you have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. The inner life seeks refuge in the ever-widening mystery of God's love, vastly deep and always at work within us. If we can welcome the encirclement of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, awareness of the mystery grows, gradually opening into harmony between natural and supernatural. However, sweet notes are sparse in notation made by the modern secular sciences; there is little room for choice, virtue, charity, or forgiveness. While psychology may improve relationships and help with misunderstandings, it is not a cure-all for human ailments. Worse, when it excuses selfish bad behavior, psychology's sound is just cacophony, rather like a cowbell. There are other more reliable resources. G.K. Chesteron's article, The Ethics of Elfland, charts the benefits of good stories, fairy tales, and fables as childhood indicators of morality and the road to heaven. Christian spirituality longs for a ravishing counterpoint that combines two independent musical lines into a harmonious whole. The ways and notations of the mystery are found in The Interior Castle by St Teresa of Avila and The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St John of the Cross. Their unique voices sing of the mystical union with God, and the Church harkens; both saints are recognized as doctors of the Church. Instead of taking the inner life by storm, we might just quietly listen. True musical notation is written for us by our Lord Jesus in the glory of God's creation, through daily miracles, within Sacred Scripture, and by the practice of prayer amidst ordinary life. Was it St Augustine who noted: "He who sings, prays twice"? While awaiting the coming of grace, even as lightening flashes in the heavens, might we not also expect the music of the spheres, as accompaniment to the long-locked thunder of the Cross? Ruth D. Lasseter SDC Associate Indiana, USA

Bishop Robert Barron's The Pivotal Players is a book that introduces the reader to a number of key figures in the history of the Catholic Church who played a decisive role in the spread and development of the Christian faith. Through saints, theologians, philosophers and spiritual leaders, Barron shows how God worked through concrete persons in different historical and cultural contexts. The book helps the reader understand how these influential "players" not only defended doctrine, but also helped the Church enter into dialogue with the culture and society of their time. The book is available from Librerija Preca.

Do you believe in the Magi? Not just as figures in a Christmas crib, but as real people whose journey still speaks to us today. The Magi were very unlikely visitors to Jesus. They came from the East, from Persia, a land that both Jews and Romans disliked and distrusted. They were foreigners and Gentiles, people who followed different beliefs and studied the stars to understand the world. To the people of Israel, the Magi seemed dangerous and unclean. Yet these were the people God chose to call to Bethlehem. Their story shows us something important about God. Many religious leaders at the time knew the Scriptures well. King Herod and the chief priests had knowledge, power, and status, but they did not go to look for the child. The Magi, however, were different. They did not know everything, but they were searching for truth. When they saw the star, they followed it with hope and courage. Saint Matthew tells us that when the Magi saw the star, “they were filled with great joy.” This joy was not only for Israel, but for the whole world. The visit of the Magi shows that Jesus came for everyone, not just one people or nation. Long before, the prophets had spoken about kings bringing gifts and nations coming to God’s light. In the Magi, these promises began to come true. The gifts they brought were full of meaning. Gold was for a king, frankincense was for God, and myrrh pointed to suffering and death. Together, these gifts showed who Jesus truly was: King, God, and Man. By offering these gifts, the Magi gave back to God what had always belonged to Him. The star that guided them was not an ordinary star. The early Christians believed it was sent by God, perhaps even an angel in the form of light. God did not speak to the Magi with words, but guided them with a sign they could understand. He met them where they were. The Magi remind us that God welcomes all who sincerely seek Him. You do not need to have everything worked out for God to guide you. What matters is an open heart. So, do you believe in the Magi? Their story tells us that no one is too far away, too different, or too lost to be led by God’s light into the joy of Jesus Christ.

With the 2026 path unfolding ahead, New Year’s Day maps out the true way through devotion to Our Lady, who always graciously leads the way to her Divine Son, year after year. He declared, once and for all: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Mary invites us to put on Christ, like a wedding garment. Only when we are properly clad in righteousness is it possible to enter the wedding feast. Explicit guidance is given to each SDC Member (and Associate, too) so that: “Everywhere he is to stand out ... by giving good example in his words, by the way he dresses, and in his behavior.” In such garb and at the Lamb’s High Feast, the beauty of holiness is revealed. It is this sublime beauty for which we long and pray to be given; it is greater than just good moral behaviour. The Navajo Indians of North America had a formal ritual called Hózhó, the Way of Beauty. This tradition was intended to restore and preserve the harmony and right relationships with all creation and peoples. The ‘Way of Beauty’ used repetition of a short prayer: “In beauty I walk”, that invoked beauty in thought, word, and deed. The formal ritual of Hózhó was performed to restore and strengthen the individual person, as well as the whole tribe, in harmony and appreciation of beauty in nature and justice in action. The final blessing from this long ceremony of Hózhó concludes with a chant of thanksgiving: In beauty I walk. With beauty before me I walk; With beauty behind me I walk; With beauty below me I walk; With beauty around me I walk. It has become Beauty again. In our own Christian tradition, St Francis’s, All Creatures of Our God and King, appeals similarly to beauty and right relationship in creation, as in our Brother Sun and Sister Moon. There is also St Patrick’s Breastplate, a long hymn to the Blessed Trinity that longs for wholeness and unity with Jesus: Christ be with me Christ within me Christ behind me Christ before me Christ within me... Christ above me Christ below me Christ in quiet Christ in danger Christ in hearts of all that love me Christ in mouths of friends and strangers. At the beginning of a New Year, may we remain in the Love and Beauty of Christ Jesus, who is preparing all the providential ways for us to walk in. As we go forward together on this sacred way, maybe we could sing that little French Christmas Carol, Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella: Ah! Ah! Que la mère est belle, (Oh, the Mother is beautiful!) Ah! Ah! Ah! Que l’Enfant est beau ! (Oh, the Baby is beautiful!) May we walk in beauty in 2026! Ruth D. Lasseter SDC Associate Indiana, USA

As we begin the new year, 2026, we turn our gaze to our Mother Mary and honour her with her most exalted title: Mother of God. No greater title could be given to the Blessed Virgin, for it gathers within it all the graces bestowed on her by God the Father. Since Mary is the true mother of Jesus, God the Son, she is rightly acclaimed as the Mother of God. Indeed, the most blessed woman in all of history. Today the Catholic Church also celebrates the World Day of Peace. In a world marked by aggression and violence, we earnestly long for the gift of peace proclaimed by the angels to those of good will, those who seek to do the will of God. Lord God, in whose hands are the hearts of rulers, guide them by your will, that they may govern in your grace and bring peace to their peoples; for nothing is impossible for you. Let us also entrust ourselves to Mary, Mother of God, asking her to intercede for us before the Lord for the much-needed gift of peace, both within our hearts and throughout the world. O Blessed Virgin, O Gate of Heaven, O Mother of Mercy, O Delight of God, pray for us, for we know that he who bestowed upon you the dignity of divine motherhood will deny you nothing. Amen.

Such is Christmas in our age. But is this truly Christmas? One of the greatest events in human history bore no resemblance to these festivities. The coming of the Messiah was announced to a simple young maiden in a small and almost forgotten village. After receiving this revelation, Mary hastened to serve her cousin Elizabeth. The journey to the humble town of Bethlehem was arduous, and upon their arrival, Mary and Joseph found not even a single place in the inn. There was no comfort, no luxury surrounding the birth of Jesus; and the first to behold him were shepherds, humble and sidelined by society. It was they who became the first heralds, recounting to all they met the wonders they had seen and heard. Thus, in this manner, the Son of God entered our humanity. This was the first Christmas. In a world where extravagance has always held sway – where the costly, the pleasurable, the powerful, and the wealthy dominate – God himself, through the birth of Jesus, wished to show us that peace, and what is truly precious, arrives by another path. “Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest. To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to become "children of God" we must be "born from above" or "born of God". (CCC 525–526) Such was the experience of Thérèse of Lisieux who, at fourteen, still expected to find her shoes beneath the Christmas tree brimming with gifts. She would take offence at trifles and behave as a small child. That year, as she ascended the stairs, she overheard her father say, “Thank God this is the last time we shall do such a thing!” Instead of letting her heart grow wounded, Thérèse descended again, opened her gifts, and rejoiced as though she had heard nothing. Christmas of 1886 became for her a moment of profound conversion, teaching her to prize the small and simple things of life and to expect nothing. She would later write to her sister: “You know well that the Lord does not look at how many great deeds we accomplish, nor at their difficulty, but at the love with which we perform them.” (Letter to Céline) “Never miss a chance to make even a tiny sacrifice, here with a smile, there with a kind word; always perform the smallest actions well and do all things with love.” (The Story of a Soul) Is this not the essence of the first Christmas? That God, who is Love, was born for you and for me in the humblest of surroundings, revealing thereby the immense power of small things. And so, whoever you are, in whatever circumstances you find yourself, with riches or without them, in joy or in adversity, you too may share in the grace of Christmas this year. In the words of Saint John Paul II, “the mystery of Christmas invites us to rediscover the sanctifying power of small things carried out with great love. God became small so that we might not fear to draw near to him.” (Christmas Message, 1998)