Merry Christmas to All!

Tonight is Christmas Eve, and tomorrow Christians everywhere will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, perhaps the most profound event in human history.

I think it is worth noting that we should remember all of God's creation on Christmas, and all year long.  The love that Christ brought to the world should continue each and every day toward not only our fellow human beings, but to all the glorious life around us.

Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem and sought shelter, and found no room at the inn.  Most Christians, as well as most people of other religions are familiar with this Christmas story. 

I feel that animals are included in this wonderful saga for a reason.  Mary rode a donkey on the trip to Bethlehem.  Since the birth of Christ was very near, this little donkey needed to be very gentle and steady in order to not injure Mary.  Legend has it that because of the donkey's great service to Mary and Joseph, God marked him with a cross.  If you look at a donkey today, you will see the stripe down his (or her) back and the stripe that also goes across the withers, forming a cross-like marking.

God could have had the birth of His Son occur anywhere, but instead of in a palace or other place designating great wealth, Christ was born in a manger.  The Gospels tell us that there were various animals stabled there - cows, donkeys and sheep.  Poor shepherds witnessed the bright star that led them to the manger, as did the three kings, who travelled a great distance by Camel to pay homage to the Christ Child and give him gifts.  Therefore, people of all social classes were included in the miraculous birth.

These animals seemed to sense the enormity of the event, as they were quiet and did not disturb the sleeping baby Jesus.  I feel that this demonstrates the underlying spirituality of all creatures - they have an innate knowledge of their Creator, and have a mystery about them that is hard for some human beings to understand.

I hope and pray that 2014 brings more victories for animals, from farm animals to pets, to wildlife and ocean life.  Cruelty still runs rampant  all over the globe, and good people must continually work together to bring about change so that all of creation can at last be free to live free from abuse and exploitation by those who do not recognize their intrinsic worth.