Today is the Winter Solstice and is the shortest day of the year. Light may be scarce but it is our hearfelt belief that no matter how dark things may be there is always light and hope.

It is only four days to go before Christmas Day. The coming week is busy for everyone. There is a good busy and an exhausting busy. I hope your busy for the rest of this week is good. I hope the coming days will be a time of blessings for you. I hope you can enjoy beautiful connections with your family and friends. Whatever your plans are remember the beautiful message of Christmas, that God is with you, that God loves you and that you are precious and special.

On This Day

On December 21st 1937 the classic Walt Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” made its debut

On December 21st 1988 the Lockerbie disaster happened: A Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed mid air by a terrorist bomb killing all 258 on board over Scotland

On December 21st 2020 US President Joe Biden received the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine live on TV to encourage others to do the same.

Birthdays Today

Emmanuel Macron (French President) is 45
Jane Fonda (Actress) is 85
Chris Evert (Three times Wimbledon tennis champion) is 68
Tony Connelly (RTE European Reporter) is 58

Saint For Today

Today December 20th is Saint Peter Canisius

Significance Of Today

December 21st is the Winter Solstice. It is when our planet earth reaches its maximum tilt away from the sun. On December 21st it is always in the northern hemisphere. It will be the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year. Today the maximum tilt away from the sun will happen at 9.48pm

Interesting Quote For Today

“The story of Christmas is the story of God’s relentless love for us.” ~Max Lucado

Did You Know

Did you know ‘Jingle Bells’ was the first song played in space. It happened on Dec 16th 1965

Thought For The Week

There is a Christmas story called ‘The Mice in the Piano’ about a family of mice that lived in a large piano. They loved their piano world and the music that often came to them. It filled all the dark places with sounds and a beautiful harmony. At first the mice were very impressed with it. They drew comfort and wonder from the thought that there was someone who made the music. Although this someone was invisible to them, they felt close to whoever this invisible might be. They became known as the ‘unseen player’.

Then one day a daring mouse climbed up a part of the piano that no one had dared to go before and returned in a very thoughtful mood. The mouse had made a discovery at how the music was made. Wires were the secret. He had found tightly stretched wires of graduated lengths which trembled and vibrated. Now the mice had to revise all their old beliefs of how the music came. Only the most conservative of the mice could still believe in the unseen player.
Later another mouse explorer returned from another exploring adventure and came back with a new discovery about the origin of the music. Hammers were now the true secret. There were dozens of hammers that danced and leaped upon the wires to create the music. They dismissed the theory of the unseen player and described it all as a myth. Meanwhile the unseen player continued to play.
It may only be a fable story but it reminds us that at Christmas the unseen player continues to play. Some can call it a myth. Some call Christmas an exaggerated story. But it is also called the greatest story ever told. At its heart is a reminder that while God may be unseen, the music continues to be heard and the music continues to flow. God continues to love us and be with us.
A piano can only work because everything is connected in harmony. Everything works together as one, the player, the keys, the hammers, the strings and the music flows. The music is heard at happy times and also during sad and difficult times too. The music is symbolic of love and at Christmas we celebrate so much love and kindness all around us. We also celebrate God’s beautiful love of us. If there was no Christmas story, the piano would be silent. Some call it a myth. But Christmas is a beautiful celebration of God’s love for us. It is a celebration of the unseen player who continues to play always.

The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday