Suffering and Christmastide

From Charles de Foucauld Meditations of a Hermit, part of one of the Readings for Reflection for this week in my A Guide to Prayer:

May these days of Christmas festival bring you, in your suffering, I do not say consolation, but the blessing that God intends for you. The Child Jesus will perhaps not give you any sweetness,—he reserves that for the weak ones,—but his hands will none the less be spread to bless you in these days of Christmastide, and whether you feel it or no, he will pour abundant grace into your soul. (p 34)

Amen. And as the carol goes:

Yet in the dark streets shineth the everlasting light. 

A reminder of the reality of Christmas for many. Our Longest Night service this Sunday at 6pm acknowledges that reality and provides a place for people to express it in worship.