Angels in a truck and Vatican II

Had the neatest experience a few days ago. Still scratching my head, and still saying a little thank you prayer. Here`s the story. I am sitting in my car in a little town north of Kingston. I am between meetings, and am having my lunch at the edge of a park. This is my regular pattern on this particular consulting day. Listening to the radio in the car, eating my lunch, doing the crossword. For an hour. Go to start the car. Nothing. Had I left the ignition in the on `position for an hour, rather than 'accessories`? Difference is that the air conditioner would have been running on battery for an hour. Anyway, time is up. Have to get to the next meeting. Car won't start and I can see it is battery. I panic a bit. Have to phone CAA, call to the meeting people and tell them I will be late. I no sooner get the CAA card out of my wallet - not even time to start dialling - and a County Utilities truck pulls in behind me. Two workers going to have their lunch! Never happened before in many many times there. I hop out of my car, and ask, you wouldn't happen to have jumper cables would you? Answer is yes, and three minutes later my car is going, I am on my way, and I am only 5 minutes late for the meeting. Ok, you tell me .........

*********

Vatican II. Lot of discussion happening these days, around the 50th anniversary of the great Council. The one that my generation were amazed and thrilled at. John XXIII's call to open the windows of the church and let fresh air and sunshine in. Those were heady days. We got the vernacular and we got the restoration of the permanent diaconate. We got an updated articulation of 'church', the people of God. Liturgies very quickly became interesting in a way they never had been - not because the mystery or theology of Eucharist had changed, but because we felt free to celebrate up close to the sacrament, intimately connected with the presence of Jesus in the Bread and Wine, in the Word, and in the people gathered there. The latter captured our imaginations and we became a whole new Eucharistic people.

So what happened? Rome subsequently pulled back. Some priests have said in our own day - 2012 - that Vatican II is destroying the Church. Rome missed an opportunity to further the language engagement in the liturgy and instead pulled us back as close to Latin as they could. And as recently as June 17 at the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Pope Benedict said by televised message that many in the Church were missing the true spirit of Vatican II by mistaking what we do in the liturgy, for the true intention of Vatican II which was to deepen our relationship with Christ. In other words, tone it down, get serious, get solemn.  There are those in Rome who would see a return to Latin as accomplishing that purpose directly. And at that point, Vatican II would be retracted for the average worshipping Catholic. Just saying.

But look at what has between happening. Vatican II is not going to be wiped out, it is just too good. It still speaks to the people of today and in doing so, preserves the mystery, the beauty of the Eucharist, and the sense of Christ's presence in the assembled people.

An recent article by Robert Blair Kaiser  quotes Jesuit Fr. John O'Malley, who says that Vatican II moved us to a new vision of the church:  

... from commands to invitations, from laws to ideals, from definition to mystery, from threats to persuasion, from coercion to conscience, from monologue to dialogue, from ruling to service, from withdrawn to integrated, from vertical to horizontal, from exclusion to inclusion, from hostility to friendship, from rivalry to partnership, from suspicion to trust, from static to ongoing, from passive acceptance to active engagement, from fault finding to appreciation, from prescriptive to principled, from behavior modification to inner appropriation.

Sr. Joan Chittister, also commenting on the 50th anniversary of Vatican II, wrote from the perspective of religious communities (she is a Benedictine sister). Here is a powerful excerpt that both picks up on Fr. O'Malley's hopeful tone, and gives a bit of a heads up to those who would continue to obstruct the renewal of Vatican II. Read between the lines: 

                The continuing task of Vatican II is to sharpen the edge of religious life again. What religious did for past generations, they must now do for the forgotten peoples of our own generation. A whole new global population must be carried beyond the limitations of their lives, become visible to those who see them not, be heard by those who are deaf to their tears.

The fresh breeze of Vatican II, the one that Pope John XXIII let in the open windows, is still blowing. It won't be stifled. If you are not involved in your parish, start now. Twenty and thirty-somethings, this is maybe especially for you. Read up on Vatican II and help carry it on. You will like what you find, I promise.

Summer reflection: Facebook and swimming upstream

 I decided to get back into Facebook. I felt a great liberation being out of it for a few months. As I reflected on what that was about, I realized I had developed a disturbing sense that if an alien spaceship landed and our visitors tuned in Facebook on their computers, they would be convinced that all a lot of humans do is drink alcohol, get silly, and show pictures of rumpled bedsheets when they and their boy/ girlfriend act really 'grownup' and go away on trips. Too depressing for me, both as it relates to the culture at large and especially to kids who grew up Catholic. Who know better. But my email tagline says 'Remember, we are in the hope business.' So a bit hypocritical of me to get too judgmental. We all had to grow up, right? And went through some twists and turns along the way. So I am back, but will be more thoughtful about how I approach the whole thing now.

And you know what? It is not all bad news. For example, I read a great article today on Alanis Morissette in the Toronto Star. How wonderful to see a person willing to swim upstream in the cultural river. To no longer accept what the culture tells you have to do in order to be self-fulfilled or whatever. Listen to some of what she had to say:

Well, I think I was sold the same bill of goods that everyone’s sold, which is that fame will afford high self-esteem, great friends, constant bliss — and I quickly found that to be hollow,” she notes, looking happy, fit and svelte, brunette strands of hair framing her long face as she occasionally flashes a beaming smile.

“I grabbed the brass ring and saw that it was disillusioning, to say the least.

“So I think in the late ’90s I saw that fame could support me as a tool to support my agenda, my agenda of uplifting, and comforting, and titillating — just engaging in conversations that I’m so passionate about.......

But my whole activism is around intimacy and commitment and the healing that comes from monogamy and intimacy and long-standing relationships, so the one with my son is exactly that and the one with my husband is exactly that. 

Monogamy, intimacy, and long-standing relationships. Oh my goodness, I hope our alien visitors read that. There is a balance for all that Facebook stuff after all.

More than that, however, is the point I made above. I fear that our young folks are growing up being fed on the Facebook wisdom and believing, trusting, buying into the notion that, well, this is how it is. No it isn't.

Johnny Carson once said "If you buy the premise, you will buy the bit (ie, the joke)." An internet commenter explains: "In comedy, it means that if the audience grins when you're setting up the joke, they'll laugh when it pays off........ The translation is along the lines of "If you agree with or like the setup, you'll go along with with the rest of the proposal." For our contemporary culture, this means that if you like the fun you see in the Facebook pictures, you will easily believe the notion that fun is what we are about. Other values you might have held will easily be set aside.

You don't have to buy the premise, because in this case the joke unfortunately is on you.

Think of Alanis. I believe there are more people swimming upstream or who are willing to swim upstream, than we get to hear about. That's the good news for today.

Reflection on Ireland trip

So I need to do a wrap-up on the Ireland trip. We got back on June 19 having left on June 1. In-between was friendship, breath-taking scenery, wonderful hospitality, and a retreat-like experience at the Eucharistic Congress.

First a little digression. The trip stumbled out of the gate when one of the  women in our group tripped getting off the bus at Toronto Airport. She seriously dislocated a finger, and feared missing the flight to Dublin. A Westjet employee saw the distress, and stepped in to help even though we were not Westjet customers. He called Emergency services and stayed with our member until they arrived. He later checked back to see she was ok. I told him we really appreciated what he was doing, and his employer would hear about it. I noted his name, and I wrote them when we got back. Here is the reply I got:

 It is wonderful to hear that one of our Customer Service Agents, Alexander, was able to provide such excellent service and help your travel partner.  We are grateful for both positive and negative feedback, but comments such as yours truly encourage all of us to do our WestJet best every day.  I have happily passed your feedback on to our Team Leaders so that the employee you mentioned can be recognized for his efforts.  I know that he will appreciate you taking the time to share your story.

The moral of the story is, let someone know when you have been treated 'above and beyond.' There is a happy employee in Toronto today, I think.

Back to Ireland. We returned from our eight-day tour of the south and west on Saturday June 9. We saw gorgeous vistas and much history. 1600 pictures, and yes we kissed the Blarney Stone. We have our sweaters from the Blarney Woollen Mills, and our pieces of Waterford crystal and Belleek china. Now back in Dublin, we spent the next week walking the three-km route to the Royal Dublin Society where the Congress was being held. (Go to Archdiocese of Kingston website for a sample of the pictures I took:  http://www.romancatholic.kingston.on.ca/PHOTOS Eucharist%20Congress%20-%20photos%20by%20Deacon%20Carney/index.htm ). I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but the program was a mixture of 'Catechesis' or teaching talks by Bishops from around the world, workshop sessions, and liturgies. The 'Eucharistic' theme allowed a focus on unity, ie communion, in the Catholic Christian community. Communion through the sacraments, the family, reconciliation, and so on. Bro Alois Loser, head of the ecumenical community Taize in France gave a great talk on extending communion outside denomination bounds, by focusing instead on our common Baptism. Insightful and thought-provoking. By the way, a lot of the talks are available from the IEC (International Eucharistic Congress) site, and are additionally on You Tube. Bro Alois is one of them.

Another focus was the sexual abuse scandal - crisis - in Ireland. I had no idea how badly the Catholic Church in Ireland had been rocked by this. Falling church attendance and deep cynicism have been the result. Against that, Archbishop Martin of Dublin established a tone of openness and sincere apology. What he and Cardinal Brady added - that all Ireland were waiting to hear - was an apology for how badly it had all been handled, ie with cover-ups and so on. Archbishop Martin has been very open since he came on the scene, and I would recommend you have a look at an interview he did with CBS a little while ago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4DHN3g5lP8) . Archbishop Luis Tagle of Manila, Philippines, gave a very thoughtful talk at the Congress in which he said the crisis in the priesthood is way bigger than the sexual abuse scandal. There is a systemic element to it that includes handling of finances, rudeness, bad preaching, and abuse of trust in general. He had recommendations for screening, formation programs, post-formation programs, and education of Bishops. (Here is a link to the text of his talk: http://www.iec2012.ie/media/TagleArchbishopLA-Saturday1.pdf)

Here is a link to the IEC directory of talks that are available for download: http://www.iec2012.ie/index.jsp?p=108&n=144

There were in the order of 15,000 people per day at the Congress, and I understand 20-25 thousand at the opening ceremony. The closing Mass and ceremony were at Croke Park, and it was filled close to capacity of 80,000.  A dawning awareness over the week was how big the Catholic community is worldwide. We sat next to people from Australia, Kenya, England, Germany, USA, and Killarney just down the road. A wonderful shot in the arm of reassurance and strength and confidence that we all believe in this and the Holy Spirit is leading us. Whatever would we fear? The sad thing is that we are so capable of screwing it all up.

Last note of historic significance. Myself became a senior citizen whilst in Dublin. Have the official picture of the Guinness in hand, taken at the Hairy Lemon Pub. As they say at the bar, "And for yourself.....?"

Update from Ireland

Wednesday evening June 13. Back at the hotel after another great day at the Eucharistic Congress here in Dublin. The forecast of 25000 per day looks like it is happening. Never saw so many religious habits (they wear them in the streets here) or Bishops and Cardinals in my life. If you remember World Youth Day and catechesis sessions, they are being done here as well, and always by a Bishop or Cardinal. Impressive for the most part. Great workshop session by the Archbishop of Manilla in the Philippines on child sexual abuse by clergy. Really excellent. And the Archbishop of Dublin opened the whole thing on the first day by wading right into it. People have welcomed the openness.

In all, a very uplifting experience of the universal church. Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Kenya, Philippines, USA, Canada, and on and on and on. Tremendous shot in the arm to have that kind of solidarity. The Irish people are solid, if a little conservative. I have had the privilege of being deacon at four Masses over here, in different churches on our tour (Killarney Cathedral was unbelievable). I have registered as clergy and so obtained the beautiful deacon stole they are giving out at the Congress. But having had the opportunity to be deacon on our tour, I have decided to emphasize the sacrament of marriage at this point, and am attending daily Mass at the side of my missus.

The walk from the hotel is 3 km each way and we have been grateful to do that twice a day. The food we have consumed here is incredible. Couple of days ago we got away at 240 in the afternoon. Zipped over to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. Then we walked up to Temple Bar and hit a couple of pubs including the Temple Bar pub. The music on the street and in the pubs in Temple Bar is tremendous. May make a return trip on Monday and make that my birthday venue.

Had dinner last night with the whole group, and Archbishop O’Brien. Great evening and the Archbishop bought wine all round. First steak of the trip for me because I could not eat steak and have three whole meals a day. Just try it sometime. You could put on weight with the Irish breakfast alone we are having every day.

More later.

Breathtaking Ireland

We are in Ireland for the Eucharistic Congress which began today, Sunday June 10, 2012.

For the past eight days, though, we have toured Ireland and been thoroughly won over by her incredible beauty. I do not even know what word to use to describe it. If you have been here, you know. And if your heritage is Irish – which both Peggy and I share – then you have this enchanting sense that you have come home. Your suspicion is confirmed when you meet the locals and tell them your name and perhaps your mother’s name. In my case, Carney and Keogh. Right away they start telling you where you came from. County Wicklow, County Clare, County Cork. They know about the famine, for sure. And in New Ross there is a replica of the ships that took the starving emigrants to Canada. The mind starts seeing it happen. ...... My own family on my mother’s side came over both before and during the potato famine (1840’s), as I understand it.

In County Clare and County Mayo you see the mountains. Rocky terrain with mile after mile of stone fences three or four feet high. Again – you see the work going on, in your mind’s eye. And you see the potato fields half way up the mountains. What? Yes that’s right. The land so poor, you see why potatoes were so important.

The other side of Ireland is its ancient history. 1800’s is recent history! You go back to Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell. Monasteries burned, people slaughtered. Centuries of ‘troubles’ and hatred thereafter. You tour the monasteries with their stone-wall ruins. Many dating to centuries before Cromwell. We toured Glendalough, Jerpoint, Cashel, Clonmacnoise and others. How did those early monks find these places? In the middle of what would have been nowhere? I do not know, but there is a theme. High elevations and rivers or lakes. Almost always making for breath-taking views. And speaking of breath-taking views, the Ring of Kerry and the Cliffs of Moher must hold best in show honours for the whole world.

So now we are back in Dublin. This week is the Eucharistic Congress, and today was opening day with people attending from around the world. Royal Dublin Society Stadium held a huge crowd for a powerful opening ceremony that included Mass presided by Cardinal Ouellet (Canada), said to be a candidate for the papacy. Don’t know about that but I must say two highlights did not involve him, and came right at the beginning, before Mass when Bishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin went straight to the point about the illegal and immoral behaviour of members of the clergy in Ireland against those who should be protected and loved as Christ loved – children. A moving and sincere confession before all the world. Then some youth addressed the same topic, and I think these youth may have been victims. They laid it at the feet of the Church, and apparently they had composed a prayer meant to be said by a repentant Church. I intend to get a copy of that prayer, but I bet it is already in newspapers around the world.

Oh yes. Today was also the first day of the Euro soccer tournament for the Ireland team playing in Poland. Had dinner upstairs in a pub and watched Ireland go out of its mind. Bit like Canada-Russia hockey in 1972 in its intensity. Great to be part of it. More to follow.

Signs of New Life

What a great season is Holy Week! It oozes new life. And the earth is cooperating more than usual in our part of the world. Bulbs starting to sprout. Birds back early. Leaves poised to pop.

Finding myself more alert to all things 'peace.' Easter has that written all over it - violence has not been removed but it has been defeated - by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. This, not Christmas, is the high point of the Christian year. Everything we believe comes down to what this week stands for. Not to believe this is to stand at the precipice of despair just getting out of bed in the morning.

Look for good news around us. Like new growth in nature, it speaks of hope, it speaks of the impulse we all have, to do good. To reflect God's goodness designed into each one of us.

Did you see the stories about Shelagh Gordon in the Toronto Star? It started with a piece by Catherine Porter and a team of Star reporters (http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1146928--shelagh-was-here-an-ordinary-magical-life), and it inspired a whole lot of letters and reflections. Shelagh was one of those good persons you meet or hear about every now and then, and who inspires you to do better. Read her story yourself for the background, but here is a small snippet from Catherine Porter:

If she noticed your boots had holes, she’d press her new ones into your arms. When you casually admired her coffeemaker, you’d wake up to one of your own. A bag of chocolates hanging from your doorknob would greet you each Valentine’s Day, along with some clippings from the newspaper she thought you’d find interesting.


A week later, Ms. Porter wrote a follow-up in the Star, and this was included:

I wrote about Shelagh last Saturday with a team of 20 Star journalists. We were overwhelmed by the response. The story was shared more than 7,000 times on Facebook and trended on Twitter for part of the weekend. My email address was not included with the story, but more than 150 of you sought me out to say how moved you were. Most of you vowed that Shelagh’s story would change you.

Hopefully we do know people like Shelagh. Doesn't her story make the world a good place to be? Doesn't it help to redeem the bad news?

I saved an article by Rabbi Dow Marmur also from the Star, a little earlier on January 9, 2012. The title was 'Becoming good while doing good.' He was writing about a Catholic theologian, Sr. Mary Jo Leddy, familiar to many of us from the 70's and later. She was honoured by the Jewish community recently, for her "commitment to what Jews call tikkun olam, mending the world." Mary Jo had written in a book, "My faith was strengthened by those whose faith was different from mine." Rabbi Marmur comments: "We of other faiths sit at her feet in humility and admiration."

The goodness of God. The Good News of Jesus, as we Christians know it. Inclusive, not exclusive. Respectful, not disparaging. Able to see God where God's light is shining, and no matter through whom it is shining. Mary Jo again: "it is possible that we become good in the process of doing good."

For those of us whose view of the world is informed by the Good News of Jesus, whose hope for redemption is guaranteed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, all of these are signs of new life. Signs of spring. Signs of Easter.

They are also calls to be part of it. The message and the triumph of Easter, the power of God's goodness, do not zap us, they invite us. Pick it up, go with it. Like Shelagh, like Rabbi Marmur, like Mary Jo. Becoming good while doing good. I like it.

Chag Pesach Sameach - Happy Passover

Happy Easter

Happiness and two-way tolerance

Articles, stories, etc., that in some way stand in juxtaposition with each other, tend to catch my eye.

So it was with the first story in the Toronto Star on February 19, about Catholic clergy world-wide making plans to 'rekindle the faith.' Here is a bit of what the article said:

..... New York Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan ....... gave the keynote address to cardinals Friday on how to re-evangelize cultures.......
Dolan, whose speech caused Vatican experts to suddenly include his name among the list of possible future popes, told his colleagues that priests could start by walking the streets looking happy.
“The missionary, the evangelist, must be a person of joy,” he said. “The new evangelization is accomplished with a smile, not a frown.”

I like that.

Boy, have we grown sour. Just look at the political landscape, both in our own country and in the U.S. The level of discourse would make a grade 11 debating class blush with embarrassment. Grown men and women are yelling at each other, calling each other names, accusing each other of being unpatriotic, as siding with criminals, as having a twisted faith, etc etc. In a debate, the idea is to duke it out over ideas. If what we are watching is any indicator, then the days of those 'idea' discussions are long gone. We have devolved back to being swamp-dwellers.

And so it was against that backdrop that I was sent a piece that someone wrote about Muslims in our country. I will not dignify it by quoting a single word of it, it was so spiteful and frothing-at-the-mouth angry. I will tell you that it featured a picture from a Muslim wedding of 24 couples. The tag-line by the author was so insulting and degrading, that if something like that were used against us regular white, law-abiding, damn good Christians who own this country, we would declare all out war, and the comment would go viral on the Internet. But not when it's us doing the trash-talking.

The past two Christmases I have come across writings by Jews and Muslims who tell us Christians NOT to drop the greeting 'Merry Christmas.' Here is a quote from my Blog at Christmas 2011:

One from a Jew who 'detests' the phrase Happy Holidays, and whose faith is strong enough "that it does not need to be affirmed by diminishing the traditions of others." One from a Muslim who notes he would dislike it very much if anyone said Happy Holidays to him instead of Eid Mubarak. He concludes, "I would like to wish all my Christian brothers and sisters a warm and very Merry Christmas."

So here is my point. Tolerance that runs in one direction - from Muslims and Jews to Christians - is, from the Christian perspective, a big fat nothing. Until the tolerance and respect runs in both directions, then we are blowing smoke. And we will walk around with smirks, frowns and heads full of suspicions. Sure there are risks, there are when you love anyone. But do we not trust the power of what we have? It's called the Good News, and needs no ramming down anyone's throat.

Let's start trusting it. Cardinal Dolan gets a repeat with the last word, slightly adapted for the whole Catholic Christian community: (We all) could start by walking the streets looking happy.

Excitement at New Years!

The year 2012 started off with a bang!

Before the excitement happened, though, I had the privilege of preaching on the feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God - New Year's eve and day. Reflection on this feast led me to a deeper appreciation of what Mary – a fifteen year old girl - agreed to and subsequently endured, in human terms. I am thinking here of the question put to her by Gabriel, which in any context would seem preposterous (Mother of God? Not married? Remain a virgin?). After that came the difficulty of finding a place in Bethlehem to give birth to her child. That was in turn followed by the need to leave the country before returning to Nazareth. Thirty years later she watched her son endure false accusations and then a brutal execution. What impressed me as I reflected on this - in the season of New Year’s resolutions - was that Mary dealt with stuff for which you would need really good intentions, by surrendering everything to the power of God. That certainly changes the perspective on New Year’s resolutions for me. We all know how long those last.

Normally I would preach at the 7:30 PM Mass on Sunday. However, this being New Year’s, the pastor offered to take that Mass for me, and give me the evening off. As I look back on it now, and have explained to him, it appears that this sequence was a gift from Mary herself. I would not have made it to the 730 Mass because I ended up in the emergency department of the hospital for 13 hours while doctors tried to figure out the nature of rather severe abdominal pains I was experiencing. To make a long story short, the conclusion points toward peptic ulcer. Believe me, you do not want to experience one of these.

While I was lying in bed in the hospital, I became aware of the pain experiences of many other people coming through that busy department all night long, including some young children. It occurred to me that some of that suffering was much worse than mine. It also occurred to me that my reflections on Mary the previous couple of days were relevant now. Pain is much worse when you are totally alone with it. It is easier to endure when you place it in God’s hands. Interestingly, because of the feast day, I also placed it in Mary’s hands. I imagined this very human mother taking care of aches and pains and cuts and scrapes in her young Son, and I imagined the touch of her soothing hand on my abdomen. I do not know whether I will ever have that experience again, but she was very real to me through this marathon.

You also become aware of other aspects of the gift you are receiving. Do you remember the story of the man who arrived in heaven complaining that God had not rescued him from the river that was rising around his house? God replied that he had sent him a boat and helicopter, and the man had turned down both. Well, I also realized that the presence of my wife with her reassuring support; and the skill of the doctors and nurses along with the vast technology available to them, were part of the overall picture of being in God’s hands.

I learned many years ago in the course of my professional work that physical pain is greatly affected by our emotional response to it, and by the meaning that it has for us. God does not usually simply take pain away, but he makes it possible to endure what life doles out to us. This is the promise of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We do well to remember that, and isn’t it ever nice when the Mother of Jesus helps with the reminders.

A very Happy New Year to everyone, and may this be a year in which you too place your difficulties and your hurts in God’s hands. I surely got an early start on that and the year already somehow looks different.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Eid Mubarak. No Happy Holidays, please

The news recently contained reports of a poll showing that Canadians overwhelmingly (73%) prefer the greeting 'Merry Christmas' over 'Happy Holidays.' Canadians endorsed the notion that Merry Christmas conveys the "original meaning and purpose of the holiday" in this country.

On Dec 24 the Toronto Star devoted its Insight section primarily to discussions of the Christmas feast. It also ran an Editorial which concluded: "For a supposed war, it's been a remarkably unsuccessful campaign..... But Christmas - the season of giving and sharing - is still wonderfully inescapable. The anti-Christmas movement, if it even exists, has failed miserably over the past two millennia, and for good reason. Life and hope in the midst of darkness are eternal and for everyone. That's what we prepare to celebrate as the light ever so gradually returns to the world."

As if that weren't enough, the Letters to the Editor were simply wonderful. One from a teacher in the Toronto public school board, who is tired of the pressure to avoid any words referring to the religious aspects of Christmas. One from a Jew who 'detests' the phrase Happy Holidays, and whose faith is strong enough "that it does not need to be affirmed by diminishing the traditions of others." One from a Muslim who notes he would dislike it very much if anyone said Happy Holidays to him instead of Eid Mubarak. He concludes, "I would like to wish all my Christian brothers and sisters a warm and very Merry Christmas."

I don't know about you, but this made my Christmas. I have sent the following letter to the Star:

Thank you to the Star for the Insight section on December 24. So wonderful to see Christmas surviving the attempts to turn ‘Merry Christmas’ into ‘Happy Holidays’. A big shout out to letter writers Joanne Clarke, Tayyab Pirzadan Jason Shron and others, for their energetic support of Christmas including when that support comes from a Muslim and a Jew. I have noticed for several years that the opposition to Christmas actually does not come from Muslims and Jews but rather from people who simply don’t like the religious foundation of Christmas. What the discussion has done for me is to increase my respect for Chanukah and Eid. Eid has passed and Chanukah ends on Dec 28. A belated Eid Mubarak and a Happy Chanukah to our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters, respectively. Thank you for the great respect you have shown for Christmas.