The Piercing Cold of Christmas |
Christmas evokes a warmth during the winter: bright lights, roaring fires, and good cheer with loved ones.
However, as St. Andrew’s Novena distinctly emphasizes, the “piercing cold” conditions of the first Christmas starkly contrast with the holiday season’s comforts, beckoning us to not only recognize Christ’s humility, but to care for the poor, forgotten, and the suffering.
The novena—spanning from the apostle’s feast day (Nov. 30) to Christmas Eve—is prayed 15 times a day. And while its roots are nebulous, most likely originating from Ireland, it humbly presents the harsh realities the Holy Family endured “at midnight, in Bethlehem” that further reveal God’s infinite love.
By subverting the typical grandeur of royal births, instead embracing the “piercing” elements in a stable, Christ, in this singular instance, revolutionized the course of history........