When I was young I had a friend whose name was Barry. He was a very good basketball player. He could make long shots into the basket from anywhere on the court. I asked him “How are you such a good shooter?” He said that he sits alone and plays make believe. He imagines himself shooting the ball and it goes in the basket. He pretends, and every time he pretends, the ball goes in the basket.I decided to play make believe also. I dreamed about myself playing the guitar, that I could play difficult songs with great skill. I also daydreamed about being a good priest. When we daydream about something good, we can make it start to happen. God wants us to imagine good things. When we pray the rosary, we imagine Mary as our mother. She holds us in her arms. She comforts us when we are afraid. When we gaze into the manger scene, we imagine a scene of much peace. The cattle are making soft noises. The baby is sleeping. The angels are singing about “Peace on earth, goodwill towards all men.” In the book of Isaiah, God asks us to imagine something very strange (Isaiah 11:1-10). If you put a lion and a lamb in the same cage, what do you think would happen? The lion would eat the lamb. He would make lamb chops to eat! But God wants us to imagine a world in which people live peacefully with one another.  When we imagine something like that, we can make it start to happen. We can begin to live as if it were true. And – you know what? It will then start to become true. – Fr. Jim