Father Ron Rolheiser

We all struggle to not give in to coldness and hatred. This was even a struggle for Jesus. Like the rest of us he had to struggle, mightily at times, to remain warm and loving.

I’ve never been happy with some of my activist friends who send out Christmas cards with messages like: “May the Peace of Christ Disturb You!” Can’t we have one day a year to be happy and celebrate without having our already unhappy selves shaken with more guilt? Isn’t Christmas a time when we can enjoy being children again? Moreover, as Karl Rahner once said, isn’t Christmas a time when God gives us permission to be a happy? So why not?

God, it seems, favors the powerless, the unnoticed, children, babies, outsiders and refugees with no resources or place to go.

Our natural instincts serve us well, to a point. They’re self-protective and that’s healthy too, to a point. Let me explain.

I do not want to die from some medical condition; I want to die from death!