HOLY YEAR CHRISTMAS
When the Spirit planned
this Holy Year
that overlaps with Christmas,
she chose a Pontiff
in Greccio’s hues,
and every word became a banner
describing the Year of Mercy.
More people share life
to make the Mercy Year festive
than all the prior people of history,
the ones who called for Emmanuel.
The mercy of the Holy Year
appears without any courtiers,
no diplomats
to make the way more easy,
acclaiming mercy’s attractions,
no paladins to parade the prowessÂ
of the prince of virtues
called mercy.
So mercy sounds
like the might of God,
the Lord of hosts, invincible.
Can mercy claim
the equal strain of victory
when facing spiritual forces?
Fourth Sunday of Advent
If God is with us,
as lowly as we are,
then God must be perceived
as humble,
our equal in lowliness.
If God distributes blessings
before we even ask,
then God is generous,
unlike us
with hands never filled enough.
Without pageantry,
or pomp,
the Church initiates
its New Year,
Advent,
with ritual purple vestments,
and less than four candles afire
on the forlorn Advent wreath.
Light-up,
attracting buyers and profit,
forms searching lines,
like prospectors
uncovering productive lodes,
with light enough
to read the paper in any aisle
for a ten-block span.
We shouted Kyrie
and groveled begging
forgiveness repeatedly,
unmindful we sought
the decorated container,
while precious gems
lay hidden and unnoticed.