KCP - Catholic Diocese of Broome

Christmas in the Kimberley is an engaging time filled with its own special character. It is the season of the year when the crowds of tourists have gone, the queues at the Post Office and other places are manageable. In some locations "the wet" has already begun and green is once again a dominant colour. In other areas rain clouds make an occasional appearance in a promising sky only to dissipate, adding their moist vapour of humidity to a north-Australian summer.
It is an unpredictable period and messages on the radio speak constantly of the need to be prepared for the possibility of a cyclone. Who can forget Cyclone Tracey in Darwin and the havoc it wrought in 1974? Many displaced persons made their homes in the Kimberley after that horrible natural disaster.
Like children everywhere Kimberley kids turn their minds to Santa and get excited when they catch a glimpse of the red suit and white whiskers at a shopping centre. Shopkeepers decorate their stores with Yule tide trappings and the cash registers wind up in a chorus of family indebtedness.
Whatever the weather and no matter the silliness of unbridled expenditure, no one can deny the joy that is experienced not only on the faces of children but in the good cheer of familiar greetings and friendly encounters.
It is a good thing to meditate on the origins of this happy interlude, perhaps with a hope that the joy of the season might find a more permanent place in the vista of human relations.
That first Christmas was an unpredictable time for the Holy Family. They didn't have much money to spend and the weather was not conducive to sleeping out. Jesus' first home was a temporary place more suited to animals and produce. But there was joy just the same. God reached out to His people in an embrace of loving familiarity and unfettered joy. To the world was born a saviour, "He is Christ the Lord", the second person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God
On that dim evening shepherds played their pipes while choirs of angels lifted their voices in a chorus of praise. The world was promised a new beginning festooned with hope and peace. The riddles of life became sensible to the peoples of faith.

There is no doubt that it takes faith to appreciate the mystery of Christmas. Some of the fruits of Christmas - generosity and goodwill - are enjoyed by many. But the essence of the Christ-Mass is the domain only of those who prayerfully meditate on its wonder and rejoice in its grace. To celebrate Christmas in the truest sense we need to give thanks to almighty God for his blessings. A family knows true prosperity when it praises God and recognizes in Christ the God who loves us.
I pray that the world which knows so much suffering and disappointment may see the sacred life of the new-born saviour shine in the hearts of all those who profess "Jesus is Lord". And may the peace of Christmas and all God's choicest blessings be with you and your family always.