Ordinary Holiness

Wonder

is at the root

of praise.

Wonder

is at the heart

of Christmas,

and not for one day only

but for each waking day.

At the heart

of Christ’s incarnation

is the truth

that God makes extraordinary things

happen

in ordinary places,

that heaven and earth

        holy and earthly

        God and human

are intertwined.

The wonder of Christmas

desires to creep

into every living moment,

so that we behold

the glory of God.

The wonder of this holy day

points to the wonder in all days;

the wonder of the Bethlehem stable

teaches us to find

the wonder in all places;

the wonder of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus

leads to the wonder

in the faces of ordinary people.

(O Mary,

Life

is

holy . . .)