There is nothing brighter than the smile of a child during the season of Christmas.
They look at the world with eyes dancing in anticipation, secure in the knowledge that something magical is about to happen. They try their best to be good, for goodness sake. They sing their loudest and grin their widest at Christmas time.
They warm our hearts.
These children, these beacons of joy among us, are filled with the hope that the season promises and the rest of us do our best to deliver.
There lurks behind the sounds and sights of red and green, trees and Santa Claus and Rudolph and the rest, the almost certain knowledge that for some children, their hope will be unfulfilled, unrecognized, unreconciled.
Yet hope lies at the heart of the season. And the hope of children can serve as an avatar for the rest of us in times that often seem bereft of any cause for optimism.
A time when wars roil the Middle East and Ukraine, when mass shootings in our nation have become routine, and when politics have become farce, it can be difficult to view the future with any tinge of positivity.
Pope Francis emphasized our need for hope, our reliance upon it, when he spoke on World Youth Day this past Nov. 26.
In the face of a world overbrimming with trials and troubles, the pope said he would like to look into the eyes of each youth in the world and say, “Do not be afraid.”
“As young people,” the pope said, “you are indeed the joyful hope of the Church and of a humanity always on the move. I would like to take you by the hand and walk with you on the path of hope.”
Pope Francis acknowledged that people, young and old, can be understandably concerned when it appears, as it often does, that hope has become hard to find.
“We are living at a time … when for many people, including the young, hope seems absent,” he said. “Sadly, a dramatic sign of this is the high rate of suicide among young people in different countries.”
Even in the worst of times, the pope added, we can become instruments of God’s will. We can call on hope. We can, the pope said, be part of God’s answer to our problems.
“Created by him in his image and likeness, we can be signs of his love, which gives rise to joy and hope even in situations that appear hopeless,” the pope explained.
And we have seen the beauty of the Holy Spirit, he continued, “in the lives of so many saints who were witnesses of hope, even amid the most horrid examples of human evil.”
Of course, young children at Christmas time are mostly unaware of the world’s evil; that’s another gift God has provided. In their innocence they remain immune, most of them, from the evil, horrors and misfortunes that are so apparent to the rest of us.
So we should take a cue from the young. We should try our best to lose ourselves in their smiles, their sparkling eyes, their anticipation.
We should all do our best to make their dreams and hopes a reality. Lend a hand where it’s needed to spread the spirit of the season to those who will have trouble finding it on their own.
Many of us already are doing our utmost to bring the holiday season to less fortunate neighbors. There are programs throughout the Archdiocese of Louisville intended to help certain people share in the joy of giving. That’s a blessing in itself.
So, when the dark nature of news, events or circumstance threatens to erode our holiday joy, stare into the eyes of a child. Recall the smile of a young one filled with hope.
They’ll help us have a merry Christmas.
Glenn Rutherford
Record Editor Emeritus
