By Franciscan Media

Many people feel an underlying anxiety due to world events and the challenges of getting along in a complicated world. Christmas allows a break from that gray depression, an inner darkness reflected in the winter sky. Solstice offers symbolic hope that there may be a turn in the “weather.” The turn could take us to more genuine peace, justice, and community—key values in the Jesus teachings and qualities we expect in a renewed life turning more toward the light than the dark.

—from the book The Soul of Christmas by Thomas Moore