The subject of Christmas peace has been written about for centuries. We talk about peace on earth to men of good will and yet we know wars are raging in Iraq, the Holy Land and other parts of the world. Why is this subject of peace so elusive?

We can send men to the moon and yet we cannot have peace on earth. We can find all sorts of medical discoveries for diseases that have haunted mankind for centuries, yet we have such domestic violence right in our own families. We look toward governments and statesmen to give us ideas and leadership that will lead to peace. For whatever reasons, it just does not last.

I think there is a wonderful lesson in the first Christmas that all of us should keep in mind. It is the story not only of the Christ child, the Prince of Peace, but of the many people that went to see Him, to find Him, the shepherds, the Wise men, the angelic choirs, all hovering around the Prince of Peace. I think our society today has gone away from the Prince of Peace. Now we are talking about taking the expression, "Under God", out of the pledge of allegiance. We have already had prayer removed from the schools, we are now trying to desecrate that marriage is only between a man and woman, all of the various themes that the Prince of Peace taught from the moment he left the stable at Bethlehem. There is another theme that the Christ child has taught us and it is that we have a personal obligation to bring as much peace into our own lives and into our own families and into our own homes. We have a mentality in this country of waiting for everything to come from the top, our government, our state and even our Church. But when you break it all down, they might have a limited affect upon us. The ones who achieve peace are the ordinary people who try to do extraordinary things throughout the course of their lives. That little act of kindness, that little act of charity, that little act of compassion, done on a daily basis is really not only continuing the work of the Prince of Peace, it is enabling you to be Christ-like to others. His teachings during the course of his life were of kindness, charity and compassion. When we imitate those teachings in our relationship with others we are continuing the work of Bethlehem, we are continuing the work of Christ. Yes, we all hope that one day we will have greater peace throughout the world than we have at this moment. But until that time comes, each one has to realize your vocation, whether you are married, single or whatever, is to continue the work that Christ started at that first Bethlehem. He was known as the Prince of Peace. When you imitate his at ions, you bring Christ to others and you bring Christ closer to your own heart.

Merry Christmas.