The Catholic Writers Guild

Advent is almost over!  After that, the inevitable ritual that follows the grand finale of a blow-out holiday like Christmas.  On 12/26 those new toys will be old, and you might still be wading through the knee-high leftovers of paper and ribbon.  That’s when you ask yourself questions like:  Are you tired yet (still)?  

One week from today what will you remember from this Christmas season? 

The image above is The Birth of Christ by Giovanni Calcar (c. 1520).  This elegant painting is filled with light, but the light does not come from a torch, lamp or any other earthly source.  The light comes entirely from the Infant in the cradle.  It glimmers and reflects in the stable; it illuminates the faces of the angels and of the poor alike.  Mary and Joseph glow. The niches of the rafters are bright, rather than dark and dingy.   All observers around the crèche are riveted on the Source of the light.  In the distant background, the hill of Calvary shimmers with the same glow.  All areas of the scene are affected by the light. 
            
Light can be literal, a metaphor, or both.  The Bible is clear about our own responsibility when it comes to the light: “You are the light of the world” (Mt.5:14).  During the Advent season, it is perhaps easier to get caught up in the excitement, busyness, cheer.  But what about the day after, when the world slips back into the dark and mundane drill of winter?  That’s where you come in.  In the post-Christmas doldrums, it is all too easy to get caught up in the gloom of it all; short days, biting cold, money spent, holiday disappointment.  If, however, you understand your role in Jesus’ commission to you (Mt.5:14), this is your opportunity. 

“Light” is your job.  You can use your position as a writer to show others that the glow of the Infant on that night was the beginning, not the end.  Remind people that Jesus is not bound in the stable, but is with us everywhere.  Reject the temptation to fall into the dark, doom, and gloom in your writing.  With your presence, demeanor, and words, remind people that the light is with us, and has not disappeared. 

In your own prayer life, look out for inklings of negativism; address those with a spiritual director or prayer partner.  Remember that as a Catholic you are one of those who were kneeling by that cradle, bathed by that indescribable, penetrating, illuminating light.  The light is life.  Changing and permanent.  Not temporary.  Bring the light to everyone you come in contact with.  That is your joy and your privilege.