A wish and a prayer...

...on this beautiful occasion of Jesus Christ's birthday.  

While the world continues to swirl in dizzying activities, we retreat in the solemnity of rare solitude to reflect on God's greatest gift to mankind - His only begotten Son - to redeem us from the bondage of sins, so we all can live in the peaceful beauty of God's love for all eternity.

Lord Jesus, may we keep growing in love and faith to follow you, knowing that you are the Way to the Father, the Truth, and the Life.  May we find the courage and the wisdom to follow the example of your blessed mother, the Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph, her husband, whose faithful obedience allowed the Father to show His love and mercy to us through you - the very meaning of the nativity.  May you stay in our midst as we celebrate your birth so we don't lose sight of the path to the Father.  Amen.   

Merry Christmas to one and all! :)

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Photo credit:  Thanks to my sister for taking this photo-on-an-impulse, while we prepared to celebrate Christmas with our family.

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Saturday photo

This one's for keeps... therefore, posting it!

I had to borrow this photo of Prince Harry from the official Instagram account of Kensington Palace.  There is something beautifully haunting and refreshing about this photo of H hugging a sedated elephant during his three-month trip to Africa on wildlife conservation mission.  He was lamenting how "30,000 elephants we slaughtered last year alone" for their tusks.  With the photo above, he expressed his protest about how wildlife has been suffering to extinction because of unscrupulous practices... "a pointless waste of beauty," he says.  There is honesty in it, much emotion and some sense of serenity being one with the 'big boy' of the wildlife.  Of course, the artistry in the way the photo was envisioned and executed is just wonderful.  I thought the moment needs to be preserved in this on-line repository of mine.  So, here it is!

So, now you know why I am sooooo looking forward to... retirement! :)  So much to look forward to, I can't wait!

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Photo credit: The photo belongs to Prince Harry, posted on the Kensington Palace official Instagram account on 2 December 2015.  Thanks for the loan of the photo.

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