Where is the baby?

Where is the baby who was in the womb of Mary
against whom the enraged dragon went off to wage war?
He lies in a manger.
He is on the altar.
He is conceived in me.

Where is the baby protected by Joseph in the womb of Mary
against stones of shame, despair and the law?
In a manger.
On the altar.
Conceived in me.

Where is the baby who brings joy to oxen and donkeys?
Where is the gentleness that brings many to fall?
Where is the baby, the new creation of the Holy Spirit and Mary?
Where is the balm of peace passing through soul and body?
He lies in a manger.
He is on the altar.
He is conceived in me.

This is the baby who overcomes the darkness
but comes beneath it.
This is the baby, which horrifies those who sit on thrones
unless they change.
He lies in a manger.
He is on the altar.
He is conceived in me.

Dear bothers and sisters,

I wish you to experience a blessed,

peaceful and joyful Christmas,

~ Fr Stan, Earley,