We profess Christianity but are almost shocked by it in practice, so complacently have we accepted a utility religion of materialism, security, good health. We want Christ on our terms; Christ gives himself only on his own. He is purity, truth, humility, simplicity, love. In him is the wholeness of man, soul and body, the kingdom of heaven in the heart, the peace that the world cannot give. . . .Our souls are like the inn: crowded, noisy, restless. We shrink from the silence that must fall upon our souls if they are to cradle the Child. Nevertheless we must find that point of stillness today, because it is Christmas and Christmas means one thing and one thing only, that it is the divine will of love to be born in our hearts. Christmas each year is the birth of Christ in us. He is the word of God, telling the forgotten secret of infinite love once more. He wants to tell it in our voices and in our words.

–Caryll Houselander