Light is born in the deepest darkness

The date of Christmas coincides with the time of year when nights are longest and the cold bites hard. Ancient peoples celebrated then that light was beginning to return. Christians saw something deeper: right in the deepest darkness, the true Light is born, Jesus. That is the message hidden beneath the lights and decorations: hope does not arrive when everything is already going well, but precisely in the midst of darkness. You do not have to wait for dawn to light a candle. It holds true for your personal winters. When everything is gray—a loss, a crisis, a hard time—Christmas reminds you that right there, right there, something new can be born. Light does not fear the night: it is born within it.