Christmas Joy

There is much grief in the world as Christmas draws nearer.

On December 14, 2012, a troubled 20-year old shot his mother in their home and killed 20 children and six adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut. On the same day in the village of Chengping in Henan, China, a 36-year old man stabbed an elderly woman and 22 children before security guards stopped him.  None of the victims died. In the Philippines, the number of dead in the aftermath of Typhoon Pablo breached 1,000 with another 1,000 missing.

In Syria, the 20-month-old civil war has resulted in 40,000 people killed and there is worry that President Bashar al-Assad may use chemical weapons against rebels and civilians opposed to his regime.
There is no shortage of bad news. Add to that the media build-up on the nonsensical Mayan End of the World prophecy on December 21, 2012.

Amidst the tragedies and anxiety, how can one be merry this Christmas?

As we pray for the souls of those who have died, we must strive to find joy in life. How?  We must become vessels of faith, hope and charity. “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 King James Bible)

Surely you will have prepared gifts for your family members, your relatives, your friends and your sweetheart. But have you wrapped a gift, cooked food or sang a song for a stranger? Heed this message. “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)

We cannot all go to Connecticut or Henan to show our sympathy to those in despair. We cannot personally give a helping hand to those affected by the typhoon in the Philippines. We cannot march to Damascus to convince President al-Assad to peacefully turnover the government to the opposition.

But then we can strengthen the faith within our respective families by attending the Christmas mass together. We can give hope to others by donating to worthy causes that help the vulnerable in society. We can demonstrate charity by giving something special to less fortunate neighbours or volunteering assistance in community reach out programmes.

You can really do so much this Christmas to spread joy in the world, to find joy in your heart.