Catholic faithful have witnessed the death of two spiritual giants, Benedict XVI and Cardinal George Pell, within a few short days of each other. The news of Cardinal Pell’s death hit me hard. I can claim no relationship with Pell. I shouldn’t feel the loss personally. But I do, nonetheless. 

The institutionalization of radically anti-scientific notions of sex and gender has been creeping into our world — and my life — at an astonishing pace for years. I’ve simply never gotten used to it. 

“Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality — our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude.” 

During the season of Advent, we celebrated the arrival of that new life which changed the world forever. But Christians don’t just wait impatiently, hovering like children anxious to tear open gifts on Christmas morn. An adult faith moves us to prepare the way of the Lord by deeper reflection, leading towards changing ourselves and our practices. Living through Advent, we open ourselves to the incarnational activity of God’s grace in the world today.  Nowhere is this change more necessary than in humanity’s treatment of God’s Creation, meaning all of nature and our relationships with other humans within it.

Most Canadians marked Christmas on Dec. 25, as did some Ukrainians. Others, like me, whether over there or here, still celebrate traditionally according to the Julian calendar, on Jan. 7. This year I will do so by candlelight, in solidarity with the many Ukrainians whose loved ones were murdered, whose cities are shattered, who do not have the taken-for-granted comforts of electricity, water and heating in the dead of winter, their very lives threatened daily by the recurring plague of Russian missile salvoes. 

Christmas is a time when loss is felt more acutely. But what of losses that we pretend are not? Of all the ideas our culture accepts as normal, divorce may not be the most pernicious. Pretending it is not a loss, pretending that divorce is empowering, just might be. 

In the midst of the thoughtful days of Advent and with the glory of Christmas just ahead, Christians may not yet be looking toward their new year in the Church and in the world. But when January arrives many of us will consider “New Year’s resolutions” involving losing a little weight, getting to the gym more often, doing projects around the house and perhaps considering volunteer work.