The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy has a beautiful story about a cobbler – shoe maker – Martin, who lived in Tolstoy’s own native village.  In this story, Tolstoy develops the themes of grief, doubt, stuggle, hope and connection. The old cobler Martin has lost his wife and children and is struggling with grief and trying to understand what God wants from him. Martin is a very good man, and he goes out of his way to help other people and he realises that so many people are not as fortunate as he is. Martin  was a very good man, a very kind man and he loves Jesus, and he hoped to meet Jesus one day. It’s Christmas Eve and he hears the voice of Jesus saying:  ‘I will come to visit you tomorrow’.  He was so happy;  so he went to bed, full of happiness, knowing that Jesus would come tomorrow. On Christmtas day, he was very eager to meet Jesus.  As he was looking out his window, he saw a soldier working in the snow.  He was weak and tired and very cold. Martin invited him inside and offered him something warm to drink and a piece of christmas cake; and then he waited.  But Jesus did not come.  At midday he looked out again, and now he saw a mother with a little baby.  She was very poor and she  had nothing to eat for herself or for her baby. So the shoemaker took some coins from his money box;   he went out and gave them to the woman; she was very happy. He went back and waited and Jesus did not come.  Late in the afternoon, he saw a little boy  stealing apples from a lady who was selling fruit.  He went outside, and he payed for the apples and he told the boy not to steal again, and to be honest.  Then he went back inside and waited and Jesus did not come.  Late in the evening, he went to bed, very disappointed,  and very sad; but he had a dream,  and there he saw the soldier, the lady and the little boy and they were all smiling, and they all thanked him.  And he heard the voice of Jesus saying: ‘I came to see you three times today, thank you for being so kind and charitable’.  In this story, there is a lesson for us.  Jesus comes to visit us many times every day; especially in those who are in need and when we are kind to them, we are kind to him.  In today’s gospel, we read about the visitation, when Mary comes to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  It is the meeting of two mothers and of two children, who are not yet born. John jumped for joy, when he feels that Jesus is close.  For all of us now, the birth of Jesus is very close. Let us ask now for the grace to recognise him, to find him especially in those people who are in need; just lke the old shoemaker Martin in Tolstoy’s story.

A lot of us are feeling a little broken and vulnerable at this time. It’s been a trying time since March 2020. A real exhaustion has set in, the tiredness, the constant battle, the never-ending dread of the unknown. We set our making doomsday plans for what we thought was going to be a short period, and here we are still standing. The physical tiredness, the mental exhaustion, the stress, the never-ending tension. I think that some days we consume too much media. It’s wonderful to hear the hope and the assurance that we will get a handle on this, but we are not there yet. This time will pass, and we will get through this. Our resilience, and trust in the scientists, with our doctors and nurses we will get us through this. The constant moving of the goalposts cuts deep but thank God our story is only a story of inconvenience; many people have lost loved ones, and they have been unable to give them a dignified goodbye. It has taken a mental toll on so many who have lost their jobs and livelihoods. We are in a much better place than we were this time last year. Let’s continue to take care of each other and remember that each one of us is responsible for all of us. Have a wonderful Christmas and YES 2022 will be a much better place for all of us.