Angels we have heard on high, Sweetly singing o’er the plains.

And the mountains in reply Echo back their joyous strains

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

The angels sang. The mountains replied - heaven & earth harmonious! The familiar carol recalls the experience of the trembling shepherds' from Luke's Gospel, so vivid and gripping it prompted them to search for the birth of Love.

On Christmas Eve morning 2020, fleeting as it was, I experienced a heaven-and-earth moment myself. Out early to complete last minute errands, I was grumpy - a pandemic was messing with family plans. In seeming accord with my frame of mind, the most dreary Christmas carol I'd ever heard was playing on CBC.

In its rhythm, the traffic light flashed green. At the same time I registered the only clear lyrics from the grating carol, ..."dreams do come true"...hmp. Making a left turn onto Robert Angus Drive I noticed, for the first time that morning, a clear azure sky. Straightening the car, now heading directly East, that sky was lit by a brilliant white flash, then a cascading watercolour vapor trail: blue to aqua to green to pink before fading.

It must have all happened in a moment , but at the time I felt transported to the heavens. I'd become a part of the splendour of a rare daylight fireball! As the heavenly body vanished my heart sang a new song - gratitude and love. Like the shepherds of old, I would praise the day knowing: a young couple can surmount daunting circumstances; a stable can be a home for a time; & a little child can lead us.

Prayer: Wondrous God, open our hearts to perceive the glory of your presence in our everyday lives. We need to hear the Angel choirs singing peace to troubled minds; breathing softness and compassion. And hearing the songs, we ask your guidance to act in harmony. Amen

- Cynthia McCarthy