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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Fr Dermot Preston, part of the Jesuit Mission to St Dominic's Roman Catholic Church, Newcastle

Good morning.

It was early on a wet-&-stormy central Johannesburg morning and I was responding to a hospital call. I was driving around the empty car parks, window wipers working overtime. The message passed through to me had been garbled and each of the hospital units I had called at were nonplussed. Nothing here, they said. I was annoyed.

I was on the point of giving up when, on whim, I illogically rearranged all the given building-&-ward numbers and headed for the last combo – and it was correct. The Nurse walked me through the quiet corridors until we got to a small alcove in the maternity ward. There sat a couple – stunned and ashen.

They roused when they saw me and led me to an incubator.

My annoyance evaporated.

Their child, gently lit and quiet, was on the edge of life. He had been born the previous evening. Joy had turned to grief when the doctors realised that the baby wasn’t able to draw breath and had partial and undeveloped lungs. He was on life-support and the parents had asked for a priest before the machines were switched off. Using an eye-dropper I allowed the waters of baptism to flow over his tiny head – a fleeting visitor into this world on his way back to God.

When we encounter vulnerability it affects us in different ways. Some are left cold, others reach out to help, and some prey on vulnerability. The Christ-child was vulnerable and provoked such a spectrum of reactions: some were indifferent, others fell on their knees to worship, some actively sought his death, while others, by the grace of God, gave all to protect his fragile life.

Lord, in the spirit of Christmas, let me seek to protect the vulnerable today. Soften my heart so that I may love like you.

Amen.

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