May, Mother’s Day, Mary the Mother of Jesus
Merry Christmas
Photo by Matthias Kinsella on Unsplash
Merry Christmas
Recently a hand on my shoulder murmured, “Merry Christmas.”
I heard wrong. It was, “Mercy me.”
“I haven’t seen you in ages.”
I was attempting to say, “ Peace to you too.”
Meeting friends, giving gifts of love, celebrating the holiday.
Christ’s birth is a time for rejoicing, a time for hope.
Mercy too, we beg; we pray for Christ’s forgiveness.
Absent we have been in our prayers of love, contrition.
It’s been a while since we have received him into our heart.
The season of joy, of hope, of snow and carols,
Returns each year, even if one is asleep in sorrow or pain,
To be fully alive and unafraid of the future.
Yes, He always sees us, always gives us mercy, always loves us.
His birthday celebration continues today as the day of his birth.
Suddenly peace is passed from one to another, and from Christ to us.
AMEN.
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About the Author
Mary Rivers retired to beautiful Point Clear Ala on Mobile Bay. A lifelong Catholic she graduated from UNC, Chapel Hill. She was one of the first, if not the first, Catholic hired in Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system. She was a reading specialist and doing graduate studies until she married her husband, Jim. Together they have one child and three grandchildren. She is involved in social justice programs and writes a Catholic blog.
Her blog: http://thewomanatthewellbymaryrivers.blogspot.com/2014_10_01_archive.html
