The Winds of Wonder

May Christmas light up the holy desire…

l’Amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle (Dante)

«The Love that moves the sun and the other stars» (Dante)

The star is the protagonist of the Christmas story. The star that guided priests of another religion, the Persian Magi, to worship the God who came down to earth. Mystics speak of the “holy desire”. But how can we talk about stars in such dark times? In the desert of Persia I once came to an ancient temple, it was the place of worship of the ancient tradition of the Magi, those who went to Bethlehem to the cave of the Messiah. The priest guardian of the temple told me that in their ancient religion the light of the sun is a dark force because it silences the gods! I had never thought of that before!

We love a divine friend who is an artist, is creative, is engaging. How I am enchanted by the words He addressed to Catherine of Siena: “I created you without you, but I will not save you without you. You must therefore carry this key in your hand; you must not remain seated, you must walk. Forward, on the path opened by my Truth! And stand up!” He wants us to participate in His plan, in His dream for us! We must respond to His call. The “key” is His Name, the secret note of the infinite symphony of the cosmos that He has placed in us, that mantra, that ejaculatory prayer, that “white stone, on which is written a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it.” (Rev 2:17).

In the Philokalia it is said that our soul must become like a shining star, which behaves like all the stars in the firmament that revolve around the North Star, and become “stars that illuminate the night of life” also for others and not only for themselves. I have heard the same exact phrase from mystics: “after midnight the gates of heaven open.” [The Greek word Philokalia means “spiritual love”, the attainment of happiness through goodness, purity, and inner beauty … ]

[This is from the Christmas message sent by Fr. Guidalberto Bormolini, Tutto è Vita, Everything is Life, Florence, Italy.]

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The Mother was asked: Why do we celebrate Christmas here in the Ashram? What special meaning does this day have for us?

She answered: Long before the Christian religion made December 25th the day of Christ’s birth, this day was the festival of the return of the sun, the Day of Light. It is this very ancient symbol of the rebirth of the Light that we wish to celebrate here.

Christmas in the Ashram

The following image was sent by Soham Karandikar showing the busy Christmas market at Nuremberg Germany.