May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace in the faith, so that your hope may increase by the power of the Holy Spirit (Christian Community Bible).

~ Romans 15:13 ~

Now, a new creature, I in Christ am born,
The old man stripped away; -- I am new-made;
And mounting in me, like the sun at morn,
Love breaks my heart, even as a broken blade:
Christ, First and Only Fair, from me hath shorn
My will, my wits, and all that in me stayed,
I in His arms am laid,
I cry and call –
‘O Thou my All,
O let me die of Love!’

~ Blessed Jacopone of Todi, Franciscan poet (1230 – 1306) ~

So Christ is our peace, and he proclaimed peace to those far away and to those near at hand (cf.Eph 2:14, 17). How could we now do other than pray to him: Yes, Lord, proclaim peace today to us too, whether we are far away or near at hand. Grant also to us today that swords may be turned into ploughshares (Is 2:4), that instead of weapons for warfare, practical aid may be given to the suffering. Enlighten those who think they have to practice violence in your name, so that they may see the senselessness of violence and learn to recognize your true face. Help us to become people ‘with whom you are pleased’ – people according to your image and thus people of peace.

~ Pope Benedict XVI, Midnight Mass Homily, 24 December 2012 ~

Desmond Tutu is the retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa

At home in South Africa I have sometimes said in big meetings where you have black and white together: 'Raise your hands!' Then I have said: 'Move your hands,' and I've said 'Look at your hands - different colors representing different people. You are the Rainbow People of God.'

~ Desmond Tutu, Sermon delivered in Tromsö, Norway, 5 December 1991 ~

St Brigid’s Cross

I would like the angels of Heaven to be among us. I would like an abundance of peace. I would like full vessels of charity. I would like rich treasures of mercy. I would like cheerfulness to preside over all. I would like Jesus to be present. I would like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us. I would like the friends of Heaven to be gathered around us from all parts. I would like myself to be a rent payer to the Lord; that I should suffer distress, that he would bestow a good blessing upon me. I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings. I would like to be watching Heaven's family drinking it through all eternity.

~ St Brigid of Ireland, Abbess of Kildare (c. 450 – 525) ~

Catherine de Hueck Doherty

God speaks to us, then, in the duty of every moment. We must ask our Lord to open our eyes so that we might see deeply the need of Christ and his pain in our fellow man. Then, seeing, we arise, no matter what the time or the cost, and we hasten to help, to console, to assuage, Christ’s pain in others.

As we love Christ in our neighbor, everywhere and always, he will draw us unto himself. For our vocation is to be contemplatives, to contemplate God in the depth of our souls. It is given to us to touch him, converse with him, serve him — in others. Christ always comes to us in others.

~ From The People of the Towel and Water by Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Servant of God, 1896 - 1985 ~

‘God Loves You’ – Catherine Doherty