A very blessed and loving Christmas to you all our readers. See my Christmas image and an extra special story for our time. . 24 December.  Christmas Eve. Read, reflect, share, pray. The Peace Children’s message from Jesus.  The 2025 Jubilee Year with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope” begins today. If you have an Advent wreath light all four candles, then share the story and pray.  Granny Toni shared how she remembered her pilgrimage in 2005 and what she had seen and experienced in the cave below the old Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. A very strong sense of motherly tenderness had come over her just thinking of the vulnerable little baby Jesus born in such poverty.  (2024: Incidentally this year while doing some Christmas activities baby Jesus fell out of my hand and lost his little head. That gave me a new reason for reflection on being a Pilgrim of Hope.)

For the Peace Children the time came that everyone had all been waiting for.  As the evening grew dark on that peaceful night a little army of children filled Manger Square outside the ancient church in Bethlehem, dating back to the early days of Christianity.   In a way, just like for Mary and Joseph 2000 years ago, there was no room for them in the inn either, as the place of the birth of Jesus, believed to be in the cave now under the church, was too small for them all to stand around. So they made their own circle, a tight circle, made up of 50 bodies and hands intertwined, holding one another close.  The crib was in the centre, with specially chosen parents in the role of Mary and Joseph and farm animals brought in from the countryside.  The baby’s crib was surrounded by lights and connected by ribbons from the different countries making like a great big star on a great big world map.  As the bells of the world rang out at midnight, Brother Francis brought the baby Jesus, as St Francis  had done 800 years ago in Italy, and tenderly laid it in the manger. Who could say that it wasn’t an angel choir that sang so sweetly, “Gloria in excelsis deo, et in terra pax hominibus.”  Yes, it is possible to say, to believe and to live that message that the Peace Children had to take back home with them to countries where peace was still a dream.  “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to all people of goodwill. Scripture &  Pope Francis:  Put on Jesus, and go, the world needs you to bring love, peace and joy to every child, every family and every home. From Dilexit Nos 5: The heart is  the place of sincerity, where deceit and disguise have no place. It usually indicates our true intentions, what we really think, believe and desire, the “secrets” that we tell no one: in a word, the naked truth about ourselves. It is the part of us that is neither appearance or illusion, but is instead authentic, real, entirely “who we are”.  

DECEMBER 24. CHRISTMAS EVE.    A 2007 Christmas story. 

Joshua had run away from home when he was eleven years old. Now he was 13 ½ and one of the most streetwise of the streetkids, but somehow he was lucky that he had never got involved in crime. He had had been asked quite a few times to try to smoke, sniff or try one of the drugs that the older boys used. But for almost a year he had watched his mother taking her drugs and after she had died he knew he wasn’t going to do that.  That was also when he had run away because their shack was really no home any more. He had gone to live on the street and soon made friends. In winter it was very cold and they would go to a shelter for a meal, a bath and sometimes to sleep. In summer they sometimes slept out if it wasn’t raining. But this wasn’t what he could call an ideal life. No ways did he want to carry on living like that. He’d become more and more fed up with the way his life wasn’t going anywhere.

One rainy night in the middle of summer a group of the boys was sheltering from the rain under the bridge near the bus station.  Some of them were already asleep and the others were sitting talking, telling stories about how their life had been before, and sharing their dreams for a better future.

Joshua looked up and saw some people coming towards them.  His first thought was to go up and beg. He had already put on his begging face, but as they came nearer, although they looked clean he could see they were almost in a worse state than he was.  The man looked so worried and the pregnant lady so tired. She was very beautiful but looked so terribly worried that instead of asking them for money he found himself asking if he could help them instead.

“Thank you, young man,” the man said to him. “You can see that my wife is going to have her baby very soon. We have just got off the bus from up north and don’t know our way around here at all.  We’ve been looking around but can’t find any place where we can rest.  I am so worried about her.  Where can we go? Oh please!”

Joshua felt quite like a man, not just like a small boy.  “As it happens,” he said grandly, “I have just the place for you.” He led the way slowly and carefully through the dark streets keeping a watchful eye on the lady.  But it wasn’t very far.  When the shelter was in sight he pointed it out to them and ran ahead to warn Fr Joe.  The shelter didn’t usually take adults, or people having babies but he knew this was different.

When he got there and rang the bell he got quite a shock. The door opened and instead of the usual Fr Joe, there was an old man in a red coat with a long white beard.  “What are you doing here Fr Christmas?” Joshua couldn’t help but blurt out.

“I’m here to welcome some special guests. In fact I had to be here to receive a great gift, one that I will share with many others,“ he answered and with the widest smile and the lowest bow he led the young couple into the house.

“Make yourself at home,” he said. “I know you have come from far but Joshua here has brought you to just the right place. Tonight our Saviour will really be born here. We are honoured and these young friends will truly be your bodyguards. Today, and who knows, maybe also in years to come.”