You know, while I sit and have my early morning coffee and read this, I find myself feeling hopeful. Not just because the article is hopeful, but because you wrote about Christ’s birth. Thank you again.
You may be interested in Michael Oakeshott’a book The Politics of Faith and the Politics of Scepticism, which he wrote in the 1950s but was published after his death. It is very short and he lays out the destiny of what he calls the politics of faith - which I think is what you describe here - very succinctly and effectively.
Thank you, Mary, for a message that captures so well what Christmas, this year especially, should be all about. As Christina Rossetti wrote, it was, metaphorically at least, in the bleak mid-winter that the first Christmas was celebrated and as a result there is hope no matter how bleak the winters may be. Have a hopeful and peaceful Christmas and New Year!
Yes, there is a source and reason for hope - perhaps never more so than now as the false gods and idols come apart and there, just beyond the darkness and chaos, shines true light. It all fits my favorite trope for Orthodoxy: facing east in winter. Thank you, Mary, for passing on the Blue and turning yourself and us to the light.
I walked this Christmas Eve to church at11.30 and sang carols took communion but it was lacklustre and I came home in the cold night feeling gloomy , having also had a long conversAtion with a friend who has recently been diagnosed with motor neurone ,
And your essay, and the comments too, have cheered and comforted me this night so thankyou for this and for so many of your essays that I have enjoyed throughout the year .
Wise words, Mary. The word "reset" has some currency of late, and I think of Christmas as the Great Reset. Yes, things are a little bleak out there right now. But every year the light comes into the world when it most needs it, and things are set aright. As I've gotten older, I have gotten more excited about his miracle, and celebrate its arrival. I wish everyone a restful Christmas and a year full of new possibilities.
Merry Christmas Mary, this was a lovely article to wake up to on the other side of the pond. Thank you. My prayer is that all of the apparently increasing numbers who came and are coming to the feast for the progress theology stay for the grace and hope.
So sweet, Mary. And yes, a relief from the news cycle. But I’m even more hopeful. I don’t think we’re past peak anything because mankind hasn’t peaked. All of Creation is waiting for us.
Yes, we’re warned the dark will get darker. But we’re also sure the light will get lighter. I’m trying to forcefully turn my eyes to see more of the light while not being ignorant of the dark. I have all my hope in God. And this season, as you said, is our beautiful reminder that he warrants that hope.
You know, while I sit and have my early morning coffee and read this, I find myself feeling hopeful. Not just because the article is hopeful, but because you wrote about Christ’s birth. Thank you again.
Christmas; Bane of Nihilism
This world is ultimately not *our* project.
You may be interested in Michael Oakeshott’a book The Politics of Faith and the Politics of Scepticism, which he wrote in the 1950s but was published after his death. It is very short and he lays out the destiny of what he calls the politics of faith - which I think is what you describe here - very succinctly and effectively.
Thank you for this beautiful essay on Christmas Eve. A timely reminder of the virtue of Hope. Merry Christmas.
Thank you, Mary, for a message that captures so well what Christmas, this year especially, should be all about. As Christina Rossetti wrote, it was, metaphorically at least, in the bleak mid-winter that the first Christmas was celebrated and as a result there is hope no matter how bleak the winters may be. Have a hopeful and peaceful Christmas and New Year!
This world is holy, too. Yes! In all this bleakness there is light. Thank you for writing this piece - my inbox needed it desperately.
Yes, there is a source and reason for hope - perhaps never more so than now as the false gods and idols come apart and there, just beyond the darkness and chaos, shines true light. It all fits my favorite trope for Orthodoxy: facing east in winter. Thank you, Mary, for passing on the Blue and turning yourself and us to the light.
Thankyou Mary
I walked this Christmas Eve to church at11.30 and sang carols took communion but it was lacklustre and I came home in the cold night feeling gloomy , having also had a long conversAtion with a friend who has recently been diagnosed with motor neurone ,
And your essay, and the comments too, have cheered and comforted me this night so thankyou for this and for so many of your essays that I have enjoyed throughout the year .
Makes me weep, this idea of a broken but Holy world. MERRY CHRISTMAS to one and all.
Wise words, Mary. The word "reset" has some currency of late, and I think of Christmas as the Great Reset. Yes, things are a little bleak out there right now. But every year the light comes into the world when it most needs it, and things are set aright. As I've gotten older, I have gotten more excited about his miracle, and celebrate its arrival. I wish everyone a restful Christmas and a year full of new possibilities.
Merry Christmas Mary, this was a lovely article to wake up to on the other side of the pond. Thank you. My prayer is that all of the apparently increasing numbers who came and are coming to the feast for the progress theology stay for the grace and hope.
Flannery O’Connor navigates the Vale of Tears.
Thanks to you, I just had a fleeting glimpse of Mary and Flannery sitting down (for coffee? tea?) and sharing their life stories and insights.
https://todaysmartyrs.org/index.php/meditations-the-hereafter/
Merry Christmas, Beloved, may the author of our hope bless and cover your home.
Lovely, Mary. Thank you.
For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the apple tree.
So sweet, Mary. And yes, a relief from the news cycle. But I’m even more hopeful. I don’t think we’re past peak anything because mankind hasn’t peaked. All of Creation is waiting for us.
Yes, we’re warned the dark will get darker. But we’re also sure the light will get lighter. I’m trying to forcefully turn my eyes to see more of the light while not being ignorant of the dark. I have all my hope in God. And this season, as you said, is our beautiful reminder that he warrants that hope.