Day 284: December 25th, 2020: It's Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas... And God bless us all everyone!

...the angel said, “Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people.” Lk 2: 10

Reflection by Victoria MacDonald in preparation for our Emmaus celebration this Sunday, December 27th.

According to world-renowned astrologers, Monday, December 21st was a monumentally auspicious time in our history. On this day, Jupiter and Saturn were the closest in conjunction; a conjunction that happens only every 20 years!

But we also completed a 200-year cycle through the Earth element and now move into the Air element, and the true Age of Aquarius. This concludes an 800-year journey (200 years through each element) known as the Great Mutation.

The double conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, in the same place in the sky and close to Earth, form a very bright star, which is being compared to the Star of Bethlehem. That star was thought to be a triple alignment of both of these planets with Venus. The last time the Great Mutation occurred, we stepped out of the Dark Ages and into the bright light of the Renaissance.

The new era of the element Air is going to be a time in which we step away from materialism [and enter] into an age of connection, freedom and ingenuity. Jupiter and Saturn are associated with authority, and their alignment can be a harbinger of political and social change. Aquarius is the sign of teamwork; it’s the sign of society... one that is progressive and very humanitarian!

When I read this information about the convergence of Jupiter and Saturn, it gave me great hope! My heart, mind and soul have been struggling to put our year 2020 into some perspective. What a year! I’m sure you, like me, over this year have heard countless people use the word “apocalypse” to try to describe it. But, an insight occurred within me, when I came upon this definition of apocalypse:

Apocalypse (ἀποκάλυψις, apokálypsis) is a Greek word meaning "revelation,” "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be

known apart from the unveiling.”

Throughout our Daily Reflections and our liturgies over the past 9 months, we have been looking at the deeper meanings of darkness, loss and grief. And indeed, we have collectively seen a great unveiling of many aspects of our lives: a stripping away of cultural, historical, political, and racial norms that have laid bare so much of what had been hidden or even unknown, and maybe even un-experienced before!

This great unveiling, we have all been experiencing, could not have happened without all that brought it about! All the darkness, sickness, death, loss, and grief have been the very things that have caused us to see, with 2020 vision, the birth that may be upon us! Good news!

And then I had another insight from my nursing days: In the 9 months toward childbirth, the last phase, right before birth, is called “transition” and it is the most difficult and intense phase. During transition, contractions are very strong...long and frequent, so that there is little time to rest. Many women become restless, irritable, discouraged and confused. And doesn’t that just sound like where most of us are right now?

While we have been dealing with this year 2020, maybe we, as a whole people, have been in the final throws of the transition phase of pregnancy...restless, irritable, confused and discouraged...but, ready to birth a whole new epoch...to birth a whole new world...to birth a whole new people! Good News! Great Joy!

On Sunday, December 27th, our liturgy will focus on the above, and our shared homily will invite your thoughts on:

• What has been unveiled or revealed to you over these past 9 months?

• Have you felt a transition phase, and a movement toward a whole “new birth” coming?

SONGS:

Age of Aquarius

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06X5HYynP5E

Tommy James & The Shondells - Crystal Blue Persuasion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDl8ZPm3GrU

John Henry Faulk Story of Christmas: A Must for this season.