Christmas carols annoyingly rang in cranky Ebenezer Scrooge’s ears, driving him further into grumpiness and loneliness. ‘Christmas is humbug’ he used say – ‘a waste of time, money and energy, shouldn’t be allowed.’

Ebenezer’s ‘conversion’ mirrors the longing for a better world that lives in all our hearts. It tells us that it is within our gift to play our part in bringing some peace and goodwill to others and choose generosity over our selfishness.  Cranky old Ebenezer found new hope in life by digging deeply into his heart.  Surprisingly he found long lost love and care he had buried deep inside himself many years before.
Advent can awaken in us good memories from the past,
open us to the generous actions of others today and
hopefully call us to the dawn of new day, new life and a new hope.

This Advent we need to check back on un-forgiven hurts of past years, real or imagined? When we forgive others their faults,
we also forgive ourselves.
It is like getting a whole new start!

….Adapted from Lesley Carroll and Charles Dickens, Glimpses of God, www.veritas.ie

Come Lord Jesus