December, the month of that most holy day,
which makes Christian even the falling snow.
(In whispers, the winds tell everything they know
to the forest and the pebbles in the river spray.)
Each soul, at this great story, awakes afresh,
reviving childhoods from ages gone by.
(The country churches speak out and testify,
and all the earth is one great festive crèche.)
Is it snowing again in the countryside?
Where homes, in vigil, comfort and console,
where words, now full of depth, are intensified,
Jesus, tonight, will come again and stay
with the beggar, the finch, and the wandering soul,
who, like a leaf, flutters along the way.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
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