It is that time of year, where a great miracle occurs. It is not the kind of miracle such as the parting of the Red Sea, or of Joan of Arc,who had visions from God. It is the miracle of the changing of the hearts of mankind, from selfish, self-absorbed thoughts to that of kindness and charity to others, a time when, as Scrooge’s nephew declares, “—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
It is truly a miracle that we are kind, when we once were judgmental, honest, when once deceiving, or generous, when we once were stingy. How can such a transformation occur??

What medicine can bring about such a change of the heart?

None that I know of, save the compound of love and compassion, given and received. It is the only known cure for hard-heartless and bitterness, thrust upon us by hardship and misfortune. Did you know that after Dicken’s wrote his famous story, The Christmas Carol, which highlighted the impoverished conditions of the poor in London, sympathy and charity and the awareness of social injustices rose to a much larger percentage? . Such is the power of the thought, “
Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Could we ever truly love others as much as we love ourselves?? It would take a miracle!!

“Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Men

As I sit and reflect tonight, listening to the gentle voices of a choral rendition of Silent Night, and enjoying the kind of quiet that comes with a peaceful snowflake falling, the Star at the top of our majestic Christmas tree beckons me toward the journey of inner depth, reaching toward a higher self, the kind of person I imagine God wants me to be, that I could never attain to with out his heavenly aid. As I go about my business, I imagine a Christmas angel whispering in my ear…”No, don’t say that just yet. Think of something kinder. They need a lift, not a strong word.” A softer answer emerges, and the scene changes, like the swirl of a snow globe settling to reveal a lovely sleigh ride across the low hills, a deeper character is revealed in us.
Love always changes things.
Love can make a stranger into a friend, a homeless person into a sister, or that old guy… into someone’s father.
It is a transforming element, compounded during the time of year when a single star represents everything good.

Where there is great love, there is great miracles.

When asked if she knew she was in God’s grace, Joan of Arc answered, ‘If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.’

May God’s grace bring you great love today, and perhaps, a small miracle as well!!!!