December 24, 2012
Theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman’s Christmas poem, The Work of Christmas, has, for many years, meant so much to me:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
During the recent Presidential campaign, now a distant memory, it struck me that both candidates – maybe in response to what their handlers told them the electorate wanted to hear – fashioned their message towards what he would do for us.
The message of the Child in the Manger is quite different: Our faith focuses not so much on what God has done for us (although that is there and our response is gratitude) but on what God’s love urges us to do. And Thurman has got it exactly right. The work of Christmas has now begun.
We Paulists are so very grateful to you, our generous supporters. We actively – with expectation and joy – join you in the Work of Christmas. And we are grateful.
Father Michael McGarry, CSP
President of the Paulist Fathers