January 2, 2016

Blessed Stephanie of Quinzanis

Born to pious parents in 1457 in Soncino, Italy, her father became a Dominican tertiary while Stephana was very young. She was taught the catechism by the stigmatic Blessed Matthew Carrieri who lived at the nearby Dominican convent. Even though she was too small to understand, he told her that she was to be his spiritual heiress. She began receiving visions of Dominican saints from age seven, at which point she made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Carrieri died when Stephana was 14, and soon after he appeared to her in a vision and she received the stigmata.

She became a Dominican tertiary at Soncino at age 15, and was devoted to caring for the poor and sick. She founded a community of Third Order sisters in Soncino, and served as its first abbess. Her counsel was sought by many, including Saint Angela Merici, Blessed Augustine of Biella, and Blessed Osanna of Mantua.

Although she had no formal theological training, she could discuss mystical theology at the most profound level. She could read the hearts and minds of the people around her, and had the gift of prophesy and healing. She lived in a nearly continuous fast, and inflicted severe penances on herself. Stephana accurately predicted the date of her own death. She died of natural causes on 2 January 1530, and was beatified 14 December 1740 by Pope Benedict XIV.

January 1, 2016

The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin ~ Br. John Carson, Postulant

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made know the message that they had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and see, just as it had been told to them.

In the Gospel reading today we read that the shepherds came to pay homage to the Child Jesus and they told Mary and Joseph of the message the angels told them, after paying homage they returned glorifying and praising God.

What can we give to the Child Jesus in our personal homage, a homage that we can give him every day?

We can be angels spreading the message of Christ to those who want to listen to us.

We are also shepherds who give Jesus our homage. We can give Jesus homage in many different ways, by our example, by our way of live and the way we talk and by being true followers of Christ and let Christ take control of our lives, because that is the best homage we can give, our whole self’s.

When Jesus takes control of our lives we can do anything even those things we think is impossible to do.

In the second reading, we read at God sent His son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to ransom those under the law.

Sometimes we are blinded by manmade rules and we forget the laws of Christ, and we are so busy following manmade laws and the law of the Church that we forget to live for God, and worship him with all our hearts.

Churches have so much gold and magnificent statues and pictures and other things, and I keep saying too many churches, that in the simplicity of things God is also glorified.

Some church families are so wrapped up with rules that they do not worship God with their whole being.

As a religious order we have to follow he rule of Holy Father Dominic, but this rule is a simple rule and it can help us to be true followers of Christ.

I would like to finish this sermons with the words of the first reading.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace. Amen.

December 28, 2015

Feast of the Holy Innocents ~ The Rev. Dcn Dollie Wilkinson, OPI

Imagine, if you will, that you are a young couple, who, like most young people your age, find out that you are expecting your first child. Whether you have tried to have children, or this is an unexpected gift, doesn’t matter. Just the fact that you will soon welcome a blessed addition to your family, should fill your heart with joy. I have a niece who was told she would never have children, who now has suddenly discovered she is pregnant. I cannot imagine the joy, and fear, this young soon-to-be (hopefully) mother must feel. Yet, I can. After the birth of my first daughter, I suffered a miscarriage. I was blessed to have another child, a daughter, just a couple years later. But I will always remember the loss of my second child, even if I never gazed upon his (or her) sweet face. This is a tragedy that wounds a mother deeply.

But there is another loss that is even more heart-breaking. I know my niece will welcome her baby boy (or girl) with gratitude and love. Sadly, if this dear child is a boy, he will be taken from her arms before his second birthday. Or he would have, if he had lived during the time of King Herod. Losing a child from miscarriage is hard. But to give birth to a child, then have this precious one snatched away from you, whether by illness, tragedy, or in the case of Jesus’ time, by the decree of a tyrannical king, is almost too terrible to imagine. Yet, it happened to many new parents of this time.

Today, dearhearts, we celebrate the feast day of those children who were snatched from their Mothers’ arms, as the Gospel tells us, by the very cruel king, Herod. According to Mathew 2:1-18, Herod was “greatly troubled” when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of “the newborn king of the Jews,” whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod cunningly told them to report back to him so that he could also “do him homage.” The Magi found Jesus, offered him their gifts but warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. As detailed in Matthew 2:16, King Herod then ordered all young boys in Bethlehem, who were two years old and under, to be executed in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus. However, an angel warned Jesus’ parents and they fled to safety in Egypt.

“Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

Some believe that the children who were killed were the first Christian martyrs. Today, the Feast of the Holy Innocents is celebrated in churches worldwide. It is also called The Innocents’ Day or Childermas or Children’s Mass.

Today, we offer prayer for those innocent children who were slaughtered. By no fault of their own, by the fact that they were born male, and because a cruel man decided this must be done, these young souls were taken from their parents way too soon. I am thankful every single day for the blessed gift of my daughters. To have a child, whether boy or girl, but to then have someone decree they must be put to death, well I cannot imagine the heartbreak their parents must have experienced. Let us today, and always, remember these young children, the Holy Innocents.

“Blessed are you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah! You suffered the inhumanity of King Herod in the murder of your babes and thereby have become worthy to offer to the Lord a pure host of infants. In full right do we celebrate the heavenly birthday of these children whom the world caused to be born unto an eternally blessed life rather than that from their mothers’ womb, for they attained the grace of everlasting life before the enjoyment of the present. The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already at the beginning of their lives they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory. These then, whom Herod’s cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom, are justly hailed as “infant martyr flowers”; they were the Church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.

St. Augustine

December 27, 2015

Looking for Jesus ~ Feast of the Holy Family ~ Br. John Carson, Postulant

The Gospel for today:

Each year Jesus’ parents went up to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety”. And he said to them, “Why where you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and he was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favour before God and man. Amen.

Today we read in the Gospel the familiar story about the Holy family going to Jerusalem for the Passover. The Gospel tells us that after the Passover, the Holy Family were on their way back to Nazareth, but the Child Jesus stayed behind without his parents knowing, when his parents found that Jesus was not with their relatives or acquaintances, they looked everywhere for him and they found him in the Temple three days later. Mary said to Jesus that they have been looking for him and Jesus replies, “Did you not know that I was must in my Father’s house,”

How do we fit this story into our daily lives?

We are on a journey where our Jesus is to celebrate the Passover in heaven with the whole company of heaven, with the Holy Family at the right hand of God.

We are also sometimes nowhere to be found when Jesus looks for us and sometimes we close the door so Jesus can’t get through. We are sometimes the ones searching for something and sometimes it is Jesus himself that we are look for.

We find Jesus everywhere, but especially in the Father House, the Church. And also in the Sacraments.

Are we going to be found in our Father’s house or as some Bibles say “dealing with my Father’s affairs?” are we like Jesus, are we dealing with our Father’s affairs, we as Dominican’s are dealing with our Father’s affairs every time we are doing our ministry, every time we say Mass, preaching, helping the poor, visiting the sick and also praying for the needs of the world.

Our Father’s house is everywhere we do our ministry.

At the end of the Gospel we read that Jesus went back to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.

And that is what we are called to do, be obedient unto death.

Finally, let us pray for each other in the world that we live in, and by the example of the Holy Family and the Child Jesus, be obedient to the teaching of the Church and the our Dominican Rule and our Superiors. Amen.

December 26, 2015

St. Stephen the Martyr

Stephen traditionally venerated as the Protomartyr (first martyr) of Christianity and according to the Acts of the Apostles, he was one of the first seven deacons in the early church at Jerusalem and it is stated that he had the face of an angel. Stephen aroused the enmity of members at various synagogues because of his teachings. He was accused of blasphemy and was tried. At his trial, Stephen made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authoritie who were sat in judgement of him and he was sentenced and stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarus who was a Pharisee who himself would later become a follower of Jesus Christ.

The only primary source of information about St. Stephen is to be found in the New Testament book of Acts of the Apostles and in Acts 6, he is mentioned as one of the Greek=speaking Hellenistic Jews who was chosen to fairly distribute welfare to the Greek=speaking widows.

Stephen is stated to have been full of both faith and the Holy Spirit and to have also performed miracles among the people (Acts 6:58).

Stephen’s name means crown and he was the first of Jesus’s disciples to receive the martyrs crown.

St.Stephen the Martyr has feast day on December 26th.

Let us pray:

O Great St. Stephen, the scriptures tell us that your face was like angel’s as you witnessed to the truth of Christ

Please ask the Most Holy Trinity to fill my soul and the souls of all my brothers and sisters throughout the world with a deep hunger for the truth that comes from the heart of Jesus, and also with the loving courage to embrace and profess the truth even amid difficulties, confusion and persecution.

May the serenity and peace which were yours at the hour of your stoning be ours as well as we wait in hope for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

December 25, 2015

Unto Us a Child is Born

The Gospel According to St. Luke

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

The Order of Preachers, Independent, wishes you a most blessed Christmas.

December 24, 2015

Peace, Peace ~ Br. Chip Noon, Novice

“In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Years ago, I was sitting with my mother in her assisted living apartment, reading the Liturgy of the Hours. My mother, who was the most spiritual and “faithful” person I’ve ever known, wanted to hear what I was reading. So I read Zecharaiah’s canticle, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel…”

When I finished she said, “That is beautiful.”

I had never thought of it like that. Leave it to mothers to show us the way!

In my memory, Christmas Eve is a calm, comfortable, warm…perfect night. From the time I was a young child, quivering in anticipation, through my youth, until now in my old age, Christmas Eve has always…well, almost always…had this aura for me. Cozy, some would call it.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, o night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!

Except for one Christmas Eve.

That was not cozy…nor anything comforting.

I remember vividly, to this day, banging on the dining room window with a wooden block, the kind that had letters and numbers on it, banging so hard my mother was afraid I’d break the glass. I can see my father’s car pulling out of the driveway and going up the street, off to the bar, or the liquor store, or wherever he shouted that he was going. My mother, brother, sister, and I were alone on Christmas Eve. I was crying and bereft. And my mother was comforting us.

My father came back from the infantry in World War II a full-blown alcoholic, as my mother told it. And to tell the truth, Christmas Eve was not always calm, comfortable, warm, nor perfect. But as a child, I fell back on the blessings of the season and willed myself into a Currier and Ives depiction of what I wanted in my life.

I made it comfortable. Today I believe that the Holy Spirit helped us through those difficult times, those Christmas holidays that were so fraught with terror for little kids. Because my mother could see what was beautiful in the world around her. She made it comfortable for all of us.

What’s past is past. And as my wife recently said to me of difficult people, “One way to look at them is that they are just doing the best they can.”

As an aside here, it’s unnerving to think that you have married a woman just like your mother!

There’s a faith that can bring us peace. A faith in God, as with my mother, and a faith in humanity, as with my wife. Faith. We know that on Christmas Eve, the baby Jesus will be born again in all our minds. And that the promise we have heard will be fulfilled. And we know that our children, family, and friends will either be with us or thinking of us this night. And we know the thrill of hope in the new and glorious morn.

So we fall on our knees. We rejoice in the peace of God, which passeth all understanding. And we find comfort in the dark night, the sounds of the carols, the anticipation of friends, family, and the coming of the infant in the manger.

For no matter what we are facing, we can take comfort in the knowledge that God has said to us that we will have no burden that we cannot bear, that there is a calm in our souls, and that tomorrow will bring a new dawn of love and peace.

Merry Christmas!

Lord, thank you for coming to our help in our times of happiness and our times of sorrow. Thank you for giving us the splendor of your presence in the form of a little child. Thank you for the peace which passeth all understanding. Amen.

December 23, 2015

Blessed Margaret of Savoy

Margaret of Savoy, daughter of Duke Amadeo II, is one of three royal princesses who wore the Dominican habit and were beatified. In the 15th century, she was the glory of a family that has given several beati to the Church.

Born into the royal house of Savoy, Margaret grew up in a household in which piety and wealth were ordinary. Her own parents died when she was small, and she was educated by an uncle, who arranged an early marriage for her to the Marquis of Montferrat, Theodore Paleologus.

As queen of her fairly large domain, Margaret was the model of Christian rulers. She felt that it was her duty to exceed in charity and humility in the proportion that she was wealthier than those around her, and she devoted all of her time to God and to her neighbors. Her husband was a widower with two children, to whom she gave the greatest care. The hundreds of dependents on the large estates came to her for charity and instruction.

Disaster stuck Savoy several times in the years when she was wife and mother. Famine and plague came, making great demands on her time and her courage. Unhesitatingly, she went out to nurse the plague-stricken with her own hands, and she sent out food and clothing from her husband’s stores until it was doubtful if anything would be left. After this crisis passed, war hovered over the kingdom, and she prayed earnestly that they would be delivered from the horrors of invasion.

In 1418, the marquis died. His young widow was one of the most eligible women in Europe. Margaret sorrowed for her husband, but she made it clear to her relatives that they need not plan another marriage for her, as she was going to enter a convent. In order to live a life of complete renunciation, she decided to found a convent of her own at Alba in Liguria that would follow the ancient rule of Saint Dominic. Accordingly, she took over a cloister which had fallen into ruin, having only a few poor inhabitants, and rebuilt it for Dominican use. She dedicated the house to St. Mary Magdalen.

There is one very delightful story told of her sojourn in the convent. When she had been there many years, she one day had a young visitor; he was the son of one of her step-children. Hunting nearby, he had killed a doe, and he brought her the motherless fawn to tend. It was a pretty little animal, and it soon grew to be a pet. One legend was that the fawn was able to go and find any sister she would name, and, for several years, the animal had free rein of the halls and cells of the sisters. Perhaps it was true, though, since the house confessor told her that the deer must go. She took it to the gate and told it to go. It fled into the forest, and returned only when Margaret was about to die.

Margaret attained a high degree of contemplative prayer. One time Our Lord appeared to her and asked her whether she would rather suffer calumny, sickness, or persecution. Margaret generously accepted all three. Her offer was taken, and for the remaining years of her life she suffered intensely from all three sorrows (Dorcy). It should be noted that Saint Vincent Ferrer influenced Margaret to join the Dominican tertiaries (Benedictines).

December 22, 2015

Rejoice! Rejoice! ~ The Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI

Rejoice! Rejoice! Our Gift from God is Born!

The Christmas tree stands proudly and ladened with beautiful decorations. Christmas gifts of all shapes and sizes surround the tree, all prettily wrapped in fancy paper, tied with an array of colourful ribbons and bows.

The faces of happy children all aglow with excitement as they tear open these gifts on Christmas morning. Oh what Joy!

But the true gift which came from God Our Father, to every single one of us didn’t come wrapped in fancy paper, this precious gift was not fastened with ribbons and bows.

This true gift of pure love and salvation was born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem and his bed was a feeding trough for animals.

This perfect, wondrous and precious gift came down to us from the heavens to free us from the damnation of sin and to be our salvation.

All this he did for us because of the love Our heavenly Father has for us. Our dear Lord! Who left his throne on high to be born lowly on earth amongst us and who would love us to teach us the ways of righteousness. He loves us to the extent that this lowly yet heavenly babe would later give himself willingly up to death upon the cross to atone for our sins, he did this to save us!

Oh such a truly wonderful gift to us from Our Father, even though we are unworthy sinners! A Holy gift of such perfect love!

This is the true gift of Christmas! The gift of God to you, to me, to everyone.

Let us rejoice! Rejoice! Let us offer the Lord praise and thanksgiving!

Let us accept anew in our hearts and in our lives this wonderful and incomprehensible gift of pure love and let us with all the heavenly hosts-Rejoice!!

December 20, 2015

Christ is Our Peace! ~ Br. Michael Marshall, Novice

Reading 1: Micah 5:1-4a

Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. Rouse your power, and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Reading 2: Hebrews 10:5-10

Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’“First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law. Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

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We sometimes use the term coincidence when trying to explain events which turn out a certain way. For example, my mother and I were shopping the other day. A co-worker of my mother bumps into her while we were in the store shopping for the same item, and the co-worker says, “What a coincidence!” Yet, not all things are mere coincidence; they are events set in motion by God. Scripture is full of incidents being foretold by prophets; and these events being foretold are not coincidences by any means. It has been said that the prophet Micah lived 700 years before Christ, and Micah predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Then it turns out that Mary and Joseph were required to go to Bethlehem for the Roman census at the very time that Mary is to give birth… Coincidence??? No, not at all! It was all part of God’s plan, which we refer to as Providence. One of the many lessons God teaches us through the great event of Christmas is the power of his Providence.

God’s Providence is a course of history, wisely and gently, but powerfully and securely without violating free will. Even though people make their own choices, God still is at work in this world, slowly setting things right; guiding a way to peace. Christmas was not THE beginning, but a NEW beginning for the relationship between God and humanity; so this is why the prophet Micah tells us in today’s First Reading that the Messiah, the Christ, will “be our peace.” I PERSONALLY would say that peace is synonymous with love and joy, which are two other aspects of the Advent season. I use the word aspect very loosely because peace is not just an aspect but also an action and emotion conveyed toward another person. We love somebody, and we spread joy among our neighbors.

Because Christ is “our peace”, we have to strive to spread that peace no matter how hard it may be, especially during this time of terrorist attacks. It is easy to pass judgment and display hate toward people of one religion based upon a small number of radical individuals, but that is not what peace is about. But since we are preparing for Christmas, I want to use another example related to the time before Christmas. The “commercialism” of Christmas can be crazy, and peace is often forgotten at the shopping mall. We often take merchandise off the shelf and replace it with the peace we are supposed to share with others as we await Christmas. The “hot ticket item of the year” gets fought over, and sometimes stolen out of cars after being purchased because there were no more in the store. People get into fights over parking spaces or places in line at checkout. But putting peace on the shelf in place of the item to be purchased is not what Advent is about!

OK, SO WHAT IS PEACE ALL ABOUT? WHAT IS ADVENT ALL ABOUT? HOW ARE WE TO ‘SPREAD PEACE?’ HOW ARE WE TO PREPARE FOR ADVENT? ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS…..

How are you going to finish out this Advent Season as you prepare for Christmas? Are you going to react negatively to the terrorist? Are you going to get upset because what you wanted to buy is gone off the shelf? Or are you going to spread peace by helping others, smiling, or even wish someone an early “Merry Christmas”?