Dear Friends in Christ,
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
This beautiful poem by Christina Rosetti is often sung by choirs, sacred and secular, this time of year. The haunting tune many of us are familiar with evokes the sense of these days when everything seems cold, grey, and dark. These darkest evenings of the year make us long for the warmth and light of summer. Yet we know that after every summer comes another winter, no matter what we do. But is there another way? Can we break out of that endless cycle? The next stanza of the poem offers a way out:
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, born in the flesh, is the hope of the world. He is the one whose coming brought the fire of God’s love into the long, cold winter of our world.
Sadly, as it was then, so it is now: many have “no room in the inn” for Jesus. His presence among us, especially in the Eucharist, can be easily ignored for seemingly more important matters. But knowing him, loving him, and being with him forever is the goal of our lives. Nothing is more important. Everything else pales in comparison to receiving his sacrificial love into our lives and responding by living no longer for ourselves but for him. That is the significance of the final, most beautiful stanza:
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
May the Lord grant you peace!
—Fr. Eric Banecker
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