There it is…in the lectionary readings for this morning, my favorite of the “O Antiphons.” I can feel the rising in my heart as I remember all the glorious sunrise experiences that I have known, both physical and spiritual. Whether at the top of Mount Haleakala on the island of Maui, Hawai’i or in church at midnight singing “Silent Night” I have been gifted with a faith that knows the kind of birth that “destroys death forever.” Just as the dark of night is always followed by dawn and as the great sorrows of life are assuaged by the light of love offered by time and true loved ones, so too may we know peace in this dark moment when disasters and violence are everywhere and cold is colder than we have known it before.
O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Alleluia, alleluia!
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 
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