Hope and Joy

Richard A. Sokerka

The waiting is almost over. Christmas Day, the birth of our Savior, is four days away.

Yet, as this day of glorious good news approaches with its message of “peace on earth, good will to men,” much of the news we have heard and read this year is doom and gloom.

• The war of words between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has caused rising tensions between the two foes, as North Korea’s continues to develop its nuclear weapons arsenal ready now to strike the U.S. mainland.

“Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright.”

• On Oct. 1, a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring more than 500 more at a country-music concert. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

“To save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray.”

• Of all the storms this year, Hurricane Maria was the deadliest, striking the Caribbean on Sept. 27, with estimates that as many as 1,000 people died in Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth inhabited by roughly 3.5 million American citizens. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in southern Texas in August, putting much of Houston under four feet of water and forcing thousands of evacuations. It was one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

“Let every heart prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing.”

• A special task force is created by the Los Angeles District Attorney to deal with the widespread allegations of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry. Multiple members of Congress resign after charges of sexual harassment are lodged against them by women.

“Round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace.”

Amid all this disturbing news remains the hope and joy we have in our hearts this Advent as we await Our Lord’s birth. But, often, when the news is bad our faith can be tested.

However, this season is a magnificent opportunity to strengthen and deepen our faith and give hope to our fellow man.

In these final days of Advent, we need to open our hearts to the reality that God is present with us in our joys, sorrows and challenges.

And on Christmas Day, welcome the Christ Child, who arrives among us so vulnerable: a baby born in homelessness and poverty. On that day, though the intercession of Mary, Our Mother, let us all praise and glorify God for all that God will do through each of us and for one another.

Merry Christmas!