Archbishop Dolan's Thought for the Week

December 18, 2007 

Some “angel” -- a messenger from heaven -- usually crosses my path every year as Christmas nears.

This year’s angel showed up last week.

It was 4:30 a.m., a blustery morning in D.C. I had been there the day before for meetings and my flight home to Milwaukee scheduled for the night before had been cancelled due to our ice and snow back home.

Fortunately, I was on stand-by for the first flight out Wednesday morning, if I could get to the airport before 5 a.m.

My mood was hardly the best.

I got a cab. The driver had the radio on. So, I heard of the tragic shootings of kids at a school bus stop in Las Vegas, the bombing and assassination in Algeria. I was tired, cold, coughing . . .

Christmas seemed far away, long ago.

The cabbie observed how dangerous the world was. After the news from Algeria, he told me he and his family had fled the Mideast as refugees.

I  commented how his job -- driving a cab in the middle of the night in a city hardly known for its safety -- was far from safe.

Then he pointed to the sun visor above him in the cab. He turned on the light so I could see to what he was pointing. It was an image of the Madonna and Child. (Mind you, he had no way of knowing I was a priest, as I had my scarf wrapped around my neck, covering the collar).

“Jesus and Mary are my only protection,” he informed me. “Yes, danger is everywhere. We can only be truly safe with them.”

When I entered Reagan National Airport, Silent Night was on the speaker.

Christmas no longer seemed distant. The light, peace, and joy promised at Bethlehem seemed nearer.

That cabbie was advent for me. That cabbie was an angel, a messenger.

I’m glad I left him a good tip . . .

A blessed Advent and Christmas!

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

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