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8 DECEMBER 2020 | DENVER CATHOLIC has imposed is crushing to the spirit, to put it mildly. But the Christmas event is the challenge Jesus calls his disciples to embrace at this moment, especially in 2020. We are called to reject fear and to rejoice because the Prince of Peace is born again. Out of unseen places he appears. Christ has come and He remains with us through it all. The beauty of our faith is that we do not need to suc- cumb to the anxiety our world generates. Rather, we can remain fixed upon that great luminary of the night sky that portends God's victory over every evil that afflicts us. This star will reappear for us on December 21 when Jupiter and Saturn nearly touch and the Liturgy declares in the 'O antiphon' for the day: "O radiant dawn, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in dark- ness and in the shadow of death." This antiphon reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from the Lord of the Rings. As Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins are making their way to Mount Doom, across the sickened and dark plains of Mordor, Sam sees a "white star twinkle for a while" in the dim and pale night sky. "The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach." Advent reminds us that we are born up by a star in the night sky. Hope is the virtue God gives to endure the trials of this life here, below the heavens, with certainty that the Prince of Peace will prevail as His light pierces the dark- ness. Christmas reminds us that our hope is not in vain. Christ did come, and he will come again when the time is right. In fact, the Lord is never late; he shows up precisely when he means to. This Christmas will be no different. The key to our hope, however, is to follow St. Peter's advice. We must cast all our anxieties on Jesus and believe from our hearts that He cares about us. I have always found it curious that the Sermon on the Mount dedicates 10 verses to the human struggle of anxiety. No other topic receives as much attention. Prayer gets nine verses. Appar- ently, anxiety is the greatest challenge to faith when we face uncertain and dark times. And as we ought to expect, prayer is anxiety's only antidote. As Americans, we are an anxious people — riddled with stress — much of which is self-induced. The root of our stress is the disproportionate effort we expend on being self-reliant and busy. We rarely cast our anxieties on the Lord because we have what we believe are better solutions to our problems — government policy, a robust economy, a strong military, technology, entertainment and endless shopping outlets. The events of 2020 force us,