Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'd like to wish all my readers and friends a very happy Christmas.

Aside from Christmas day, the only time that I genuinely appreciate ‘the Christmas spirit’ is when I offer the Rosary. I imagine myself as a fly on the wall of the stable. Slowly, I am surrounded by the joy of seeing Our Lord as an adorable newborn. 

Summer 2013, on the sun seared sands of Miami beach, I felt like I was celebrating Christmas when willing myself to feel Our Lady’s joy on becoming a mother. In deepest January, when the sky is a dirty black velvet and the ice and snow freeze me, I think about the Baby put into Our Lady's arms, and the warmth of their bond and their closeness, Mother and Son warming each other. The heavenly beams of light shining from them. The Son of God cradled in Our Lady’s arms and being suckled by the best woman that ever lived... When I pray at St Anthony's statue, there is a similar connection, in that the Capuchin shared one of Our Lady's privileges in holding the Christ Child.

Thankfully, I've been enjoying a sublime Christmas 2014 here in Kensington.

I raise a glass to you; all the lovely souls that light my path.