We have crossed the winter solstice and each day is now just bit brighter than the day before. The son is on the way. In the liturgical calendar we make the steady climb, from the Birth of Jesus, through the Ressurection, to the Birth of the Church at Pentecost.
On this last full day of advent let us, not ignore the pain and darkness, but simply begin to shift our focus. In the words of the Rite of Baptism, let us"walk always as children of the light." And on this 4th Sunday of Advent, we turn to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
