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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Cardinal Vincent Nichols

The Sharp Eyed Eagle

Good Morning. The Christmas buzz is receding. But it has not gone, not yet! And today there’s an image that can help us to keep the Christmas spirit alive, for today is the Feast of St John, the Gospel writer. His symbol is an eagle, that sharp-eyed bird that hovers over mountains and deserts with a far-seeing eye. With an eagle-like perception, John tells us that the child whose birth we celebrate is actually from the very beginning, the most distant origin. ‘In the beginning’ he says, ‘was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word is God’. It is this Word that has taken our flesh in the person of Jesus and is now among us, in our hearts, in his power.

So as we think of Christmas we slowly acquire that far-seeing eye of the eagle. Now we can see far beyond the everyday and know that our very breath comes from God, through His Word now among us in this child.

The sharp-eyed eagle is also the first to spot the presence of food and water in the desert. And John tells us that in Jesus we find both food for eternal life and a living water that can well up inside of each of us. These are enough to transform the desert places of our hearts and world into places of growth and flourishing.

Heavenly Father, give us the sight to see the meaning and purpose in our lives, so that we may truly contribute to growth and flourishing in our world.

Amen.