In the fall of 1965 most of the people in this area, including 10 years old me, were experiencing Hurricane Betsy, which made landfall on September 9th. I remember standing with my dad on the front lawn as the eye passed over. It was so eerie. And so many of my family members were flooded out in Caroline Park down in St. Bernard, which was terrible.
So, I could understand why many of us might not remember the Blackout of November 9th, 1965, that affected the Northeast: Ontario, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New York, and was especially felt hard in New York City.
I read a report that said it happened around the height of the evening winter rush hour when it was already getting dark. Thousands of commuters were caught in tunnels and trains, thousands of people were trapped in high rises, and thousands in crowded elevators, stuck between floors of tall buildings.
Amazingly the people of New York City, often viewed as very hard and cynical people, stepped up in unexpected ways that brought hope to a terrifying and confusing situation. Sure, there were those who took advantage of what was happening, but for the most part, people showed compassion, courage, concern, and love, and offered help to those in need in so many wonderful ways even at the risk of their own lives.
I do not fail to see the similarity of our own current situation. Only, while the blackout was only for one night and 30 million people were affected, we have been dealing with Covid for almost a year now and the entire world is feeling its effects.
However, in this time, which we usually associate with the hope that came into our world with the baby Jesus, God made man, our Savior, I am so encouraged that despite the length and depth of the tragedy, we have been enduring these many months, so many people have stepped up to be Christ for so many others.
The spirit of love, concern, mercy, compassion, joy, forgiveness, justice, and hope, is constantly being demonstrated, by those on the front lines, and in our hospitals, by our teachers, at the food banks, through blood donations, with fundraisers for victims of natural disasters, gift-giving, and so much more, and we can all keep that going.
We know that this Christmas story, which we celebrate every year at this time, was a light of hope and joy. We hear Isaiah say, (at the vigil Mass) “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” and that light brought them abundant joy. In the Gospel, we learn that the good news of that great joy was the birth of Jesus our savior in Bethlehem. And John the Evangelist tells us in the Gospel on Christmas day that Jesus, the Word of God, was the light of the human race, which shone in the darkness and darkness could not overcome it.
Jesus is our hope and our joy and not any of the dark events of this year will ever keep his light from shining in our hearts. Hopefully, even in our own dark times, we can still reflect the light of Christ and bring hope to the world, because, we really need it. We really need Jesus, our light, our hope, and our joy.