Christmas Wishes for All My Friends

For this wondrous day, I share with you a letter written by Fra Giovanni i to his friend Countess Allagia Aldobrandeschi on Christmas Eve of 1513. His words still bring hope and peace, even 500 years later. 

Dear Friend,

“I salute you!

There is nothing I can give you which you have not;
But there is much that, while I cannot give, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today.

 Take Heaven.

No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant.

Take Peace.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow;
behind it, yet within our reach is joy.

Take Joy. 

And so, at the Christmas time, I greet you,

with the prayer that for you, 

now and forever,
the day breaks 

and the shadows flee away.”

(Fra Giovanni, 1513)

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas, and all that life can bring of contentment, joy and peace.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.