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Your outlook on life is deeply
affected by what you expect. If life is just a rat race, a fierce
competition, a struggle against other people to see who can get ahead
first, then you are waiting for a slap. However, if you are waiting and
watching for goodness, kindness, a place to bring your love -- if you are
waiting for beauty and truth wherever you may find them, then you are
waiting for a kiss.
If we allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the injustice and the evil that
we see in our world, then we become unfaithful to the call to prepare a
way for the Lord. We don't prepare the world to receive Jesus by retreating
into our own little worlds of comfort and protection.
Pope John Paul II said in an address to a group of religious
superiors, "Sometimes it might seem that love, justice and
fidelity are no longer present in today's world. Do not be afraid; the
Lord is with you, he goes before you and follows you with the fidelity of
his love. Witness with your life what you believe!"
The God of consolation wants to gently hold us, comfort us, and tenderly
love us. As we prepare for the celebration of the birth of the
infant-God, are we not also being called to tenderness in our own lives?
In a world where violence is destroying so many lives and so much of our
environment, the Christian response of tenderness is needed more than
ever. We need to respect and protect one another, and the earth of which
we are a part.
As we move towards the feast of the birth of the infant Jesus and as we
prepare for his Second Coming, may
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