This Being The Fourth Sunday Of Advent....

At midnight Liturgy this Christmas eve, we will hear the angels say to the shepherds:

"Do not be afraid; for behold, 
  I proclaim to you good news of great joy
  that will be for all the people."

PEACE...

All of us, at one time or another, have felt heart-sick about the war in the Middle East.  Apart from all the politics, we know that war is a failure of peace.  No matter how evil the enemy, or how critically necessary it might be to remove him, war is simply tragic and results in the death of thousands of innocent people, and scars thousands more - if not all of us in some way.

Part of our Advent longing should be to grow in our desire for peace - hunger and thirst for it!

Let's let a desire for the Good News of Christmas grow in our hearts each day now.  Let's feel the pain of "hostility" and fear and anxiety of all those who are in the middle of the terror of war - civilians, soldiers, and all of us.  And as we feel this tremendous longing and hope, let's turn to God and ask for peace in our own hearts.  In these precious days of preparation, we can all be peace-makers at home, with our friends and relatives, in our parishes and faith communities and where we work.

Two thousand years ago the angels announced to the shepherds:

"Glory to God in the highest 
  and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." 

Let us all continue to pray for peace in our world.  Let's pray that hearts might be transformed, to find the path of peace together.  But, as we pray, let's let peace have a chance in our own hearts, in our own world, close at home.  The peace-making begins with God's work in us.  This is truly Advent longing.

 Let there be Peace on Earth,
and let it begin with us!

 "Taken from Praying Advent, on Creighton University's Online Ministries web site:
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html.
Used with permission."