The light used to light this candle on our table came from the grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born! It's called the Peace Light and here's the story: Each year, a child from Upper Austria fetches the light from the grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The light is carried in two blast-proof miners lamps on an Austrian Airlines jet from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Vienna, Austria, from where it is distributed at a Service of Dedication to delegations from across Europe who take it back, with a message of Peace, to their own countries. Austrian Airlines then flies the miners lamps containing the Peace Light from Bethlehem to New York City. The goal is to help the light spread like the branches of a huge tree rooted in New York and spreading across the continent.
The Boy Scout troop on the Army post went to Wurzburg this weekend to get this for the Schweinfurt Soldiers and their families. It's being passed around on the post and to all of us who live in the German neighborhoods outside the post. We're going to keep it continuously lit until after Christmas, reminding us to pray for peace.
God bless you all in this holiday season, and may God bring you all much joy and peace throughout this Holy Season and always.
