Christmas Eve has its own readings, proper to the feast. Today’s readings for the Mass of the day describe Zacharia proclaiming that he may now go in peace because he has seen the salvation of God for his people. Looking with hope to the future, when the present may not be that great, takes a tremendous amount of faith in the present and hope for the future. Zacharia personifies this hope as he identifies the great point of salvation history as located in the arms of Mary. The story, as Zacharia notes, is not absent of pain and struggle. He foretells how sorrow will touch Mary and therefore indicates as well that our struggle towards the fullness of redemption is not without its anxiety and pain. Christmas and Good Friday are not that distant in the liturgical year. But it is towards the ultimate joy and hope, the same joy experienced by Zachariah when looked down on a small child, that encouraged Zacharia and encourages all of us on Christmas Eve