NIGHT OF WONDERS

 QUENCHING THE STARS

This was Christmas Eve and Madeleine my oldest sister was singing ‘Silent Night, Holy Night and Chris had brought two bags of turf from the shed, and Babs had brought two buckets of water from the well … and already, its flame perfectly calm, the lamp was giving more light than the fire, with its raptures big and small. But the lamplight and firelight that was every night. Tonight was different. 

Looking at the crib in the deep sill of our front window, I could see that the light of the highest heaven was in our house. It was a night of wonders. Tonight, all night, the gates of heaven would be open above us.

 Riding animals higher than our horse, and wearing glittering vestments not clothes, the three Wise Men might pass through our yard tonight and if they did our father would show us the tracks in the morning. Plain as could be, we saw them last Christmas morning. It was in a stall like ours that Mary and Joseph had sought shelter.

 The thought of Mary giving birth to death was enough to quench the stars. The bits of ‘Silent Night’ we knew we sang. We sang it again and again. And then, almost killed with tiredness we went to bed.

(from 'NOSTOS' by John Moriarty)

WISHING YOU ALL

‘THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN’

TO SHINE UPON YOUR HEARTS

ON  THIS 'NIGHT

OF WONDERS’