Last year Pope Francis delivered his traditional Christmas message from the Hall of Benediction of St. Peter’s Basilica, rather than from the usual window where popes more traditionally appear before tens of thousands of the faithful. Just as his place of delivery reflected the grim reality of COVID, so too did his message focus on the responsibilities we — and the wealthier nations especially — have towards those in need.

Omar El Akkad begins his novel, What Strange Paradise, with this sentence: “The child lies on the shore.” That beginning calls to mind the photo of the dead three-year-old refugee Alan Kurdi whose body was washed ashore on a Mediterranean island in September 2015. The photo sparked heightened global concern for Syrian refugees and an upsurge in donations to help migrants and refugees.

Truth exposed

We take pride in our belief that we are a welcoming and inclusive society. If we examine our language deeper we are faced with the truth that we are not. We were not welcoming or inclusive to the people who are here already before we arrived. The phrase “we are a nation of immigrants” exposes the exclusion of the Indigenous people. The phrase summarized why we are in this tender spot. Their being out of our consciousness resulted in their being out of our society.

Life looks pretty promising at dawn. The sun is rising, the air a little crisper, the day ahead of us full of possibilities — a chance to start anew, hope for the best, maybe even fix yesterday’s problems or at least see them in a new light.

With all that today’s parents have to do, how is it possible to go about the mammoth task of parenting the media?

What was surprising about the Hindustan Times being the first source I was offered on Google for reports of Pope Francis’ weekend message to journalists was how unsurprising it was.

Give until it hurts. That famous phrase was uttered by Mother Teresa of Calcutta at a national prayer breakfast in Washington 50 years ago.

Interrupting is a bad habit I have been working to break for a long time, with some success and more work yet to do. And every struggle has a flip-side strength: While I need to stop speaking over people, the weakness is driven by a persistent perseverance that can also be a strength. God has been asking me lately to interrupt some of the patterns in my life that are not serving me well.

What’s next?

The audacity and arrogance of our federal government never ceases to amaze and alarm me. While the government feeds us a consistent rhetoric of care and concern, they are gradually taking away our freedoms. The agenda includes using our tax dollars to support/promote abortion and in many other countries in the world. It is also doing his best to silence the pro-life voice.

Fifty years is a long time for a good idea to sit on a shelf.