“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone…”

The opening words of this hymn speak to us about the natural season we are in. Perhaps the writer meant not only the winter months, but the season of mankind’s soul before the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we move deeper into the Christmas and Epiphany Seasons and open ourselves up to let Jesus into our lives more fully, the awful coldness in the center of our beings gives way to the warmth of His presence; the fatigue of holiday busyness gives way to new physical strength; the fear and anxiety of a new year give way to peace and joy. This actually happens as we receive God’s power and love through Jesus Christ.

This midwinter, I pray that we shall all walk and live our daily lives thanking God for the gift of His Son – a debt we shall never be able to repay. 

Let us cast off all traces of the world’s over-spiritualized cold religiosity. In 2012, I pray that we shall walk the streets of our community as living symbols of God’s deep, soul-warming and life giving love.

Remember how the hymn ends:

“if I were a wise man, I would do my part; yet what I can I give Him – give my heart.”

My love to you in Christ, 

Fr. Gerry