Contemplating Christmas
“All of life is sustained and intensified by those two greatest sacraments of the heart;
that first morning when the huge heart of the Creator spun the earth lovingly into being; and then,
that enduring night when God’s astonishing desire for us was revealed in the small heart of a
starry-eyed and mystified child whom Christians call Jesus.”
–Daniel O’Leary
Contemplating Christmas
“All of life is sustained and intensified by those two greatest sacraments of the heart;
that first morning when the huge heart of the Creator spun the earth lovingly into being; and then,
that enduring night when God’s astonishing desire for us was revealed in the small heart of a
starry-eyed and mystified child whom Christians call Jesus.”
–Daniel O’Leary
This Holy Christmas Night
Many are wondering what relevance Christmas has in our world today; a world overshadowed by fear, violence, hopelessness, and so much suffering!
Monica Brown’s Christmas song, This Holy Christmas Night sings about the reality of our suffering world and the relevance of Christmas for us today.
“Many are the hungry in our world,
many are the broken and the poor.
And many hearts are searching for a love,
that gives meaning to their empty lonely lives.
And so we wonder what does Christmas mean?
What can its message be for us today?
Why can’t we make the love and peace it brings
A Christmas gift forever and a day?”
–Monica Brown
This Holy Christmas Night (Verse 2)
from the album Comfort My People
Mary’s Lullaby
Monica continues the questioning and pondering of the real meaning of Christmas in Mary’s Lullaby,
a beautiful simple song that sings of what Mary, the Mother of Jesus, might have pondered
as she held her baby son to her breast.
In listening to this song, we sense how the contemplative heart of Mary
(Lk 2:19) nurtured Jesus’ own contemplative spirit.
As Jesus suckled at his mother’s breast, was his tiny heart imitating the tempo of his mother’s contemplative heart?
–Daniel O’Leary
As Jesus grew into a sense of his own mystery and embraced his mission, would not the faithful beat of his mother’s contemplative heart have continued to influence him as he grew in wisdom? Was it from his mother, Mary, that Jesus learnt to listen with the ear of his heart as he pondered and prayed, long before dawn (Mk 1:35) and even through the night, (Lk 6:12) grappling as his mother did, with the mystery of grace at work in him?
As Jesus suckled at his mother’s breast, was his tiny heart imitating the tempo of his mother’s contemplative heart?
–Daniel O’Leary
As Jesus grew into a sense of his own mystery and embraced his mission, would not the faithful beat of his mother’s contemplative heart have continued to influence him as he grew in wisdom? Was it from his mother, Mary, that Jesus learnt to listen with the ear of his heart as he pondered and prayed, long before dawn (Mk 1:35) and even through the night, (Lk 6:12) grappling as his mother did, with the mystery of grace at work in him?
We hope and pray these Christmas songs will draw you into prayerful contemplation, bringing moments of peace and goodwill to you and to our world.
If I Could Whisper In Your Ear, Baby Jesus!
And here is a special song for children that sings of a child’s wonder and delight in the Christmas mystery.
If I could whisper in your ear, Baby Jesus,
I would tell you what I feel here with you.
There is joy, such a special joy dancing ’round in me.
There is love, a warm and gentle love filling up my heart for you.
And oh I feel, next to you, in your loving smile, just so very close to God.
–Monica Brown
If I Could Whisper In Your Ear, Baby Jesus
from the album Our God is Near
If I could whisper in your ear, Baby Jesus,
I would tell you what I feel here with you.
There is joy, such a special joy dancing ’round in me.
There is love, a warm and gentle love filling up my heart for you.
And oh I feel, next to you, in your loving smile, just so very close to God.
–Monica Brown
If I Could Whisper In Your Ear, Baby Jesus
from the album Our God is Near