Fumbling towards Beatitude

This first one is poignant because of what must be happening with holy family at the time the maid is recalling... more than thirty years after Bethlehem: The Maid-Servant At The Inn "It's queer," she said; "I see the light
 As plain as I beheld it then,
 All silver-like and calm and bright- We've not had stars like that again!

 "And she was such a gentle thing To birth a baby in the cold.
 The barn was dark and frightening-
 This new one's better than the old.

In the wake of the senseless killing of the twenty children and their six teachers in Newton, Connecticut last week, there is some traction in the on-line world remembering the nation's unofficial children's pastor, the late Fred Rogers of the multi-decade television show, Mister Roger's Neighbourhood . Sometimes the object of jokes and parody, the fact remains that he was something of an icon of children's education and entertainment. His show lasted more than thirty years (1968-2001), and his gentle and patient persona affirmed and influenced generations of children.