It’s the most wonderful time of the year as the Christmas spirit if we have real faith and believe in it is upon us. If you ask most people what the Christmas season means to them, it’s ‘gifts’ and family. Every year and especially this year the season of Christmas comes to draw us out of these feelings of uncertainty, hopelessness and even at times despair that we have been feeling for the past year or so by reminding us that we are called to move out of the darkness of selfishness and greed to live in the light of giving and goodness. However, for those away from home, the lonely or for those with ill health, this season is simply a reminder of what they don’t have. Christmas is a celebration, a time for giving and not simply a day we exchange gifts. The spirit of Christmas is in the ‘togetherness’, it’s in the thought to which you put into thinking about others, it’s a selfless time, where we forgive, take stock of what’s important and become ‘better’ versions of ourselves. It’s the universal ‘feel good’ factor for those that aren’t a Scrooge, and even if you don’t celebrate it, you can’t help but feel the love. Our fundamentals kick in and we upgrade to a strict moral compass. We become more charitable, more accepting and generous with both gifts and emotions. Undoubtedly these principals should be present all year round, however, there’s something about the season, and connectivity to your neighbours, being social and sharing with others. It’s a sense of community, a social structure that we follow, and we simply do what others do, so let it be doing good! This Christmas season let’s make a difference to someone that needs us. Recognise the need in others, and it’s not all about the money, it could be helping them to do their shopping, taking time to talk, to be there, taking them to visit family, cooking for them or inviting them in for a festive feast. Volunteer and visit the elderly, help the homeless or closer to home; visit family that you haven’t seen in a long time. Write a letter and not a “send to all” by email! Be personal, get personal and get real.
Meaning and Value
Christmas is a privileged opportunity to meditate on the meaning and value of our existence and our true faith in God. The approach of this solemnity helps us on the one hand to reflect on the drama of history in which people, injured by sin, are perennially in search of happiness and of a fulfilling sense of life and death; and on the other, it urges us to meditate on the merciful kindness of God who came to humanity to communicate to us directly the Truth that saves, and to enable us to partake in His friendship and His life. Therefore let us prepare ourselves for Christmas with humility and simplicity, making ourselves ready to receive as a gift the light, joy and peace that shine from this mystery. God’s sign is His humility. God’s sign is that He makes Himself small; He becomes a child; He lets us touch Him and He asks for our love. How we would prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God’s power and greatness! But His sign summons us to faith, charity and love, and thus it gives us hope: this is what God is like. He is goodness itself. He invites us to become like Him. Yes indeed, we become like God if we allow ourselves to be shaped by this sign; if we ourselves learn humility and hence true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth, faith, care and love. Only if people change will the world change; and in order to change, people need the light that comes from God be only all for Jesus, the light which so unexpectedly on the night of Christmas entered into our lives.
The Real Meaning
To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the Spirit of Christ. I’ve always liked Christmas. I like the sounds, the smells, the trees and decorations, the traditions. But it is so easy to be distracted from the real message that God gives us in this season. To prepare our hearts for Christmas, we must cultivate the spirit of expectancy. Peace with God, peace with others, and peace in our own hearts. The good news of great joy changed the course of every silent night to come. The story of Christmas is the story of God’s relentless love for us. There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ. Witnessing the annual commercialization of Christmas, of seeing Christmas become less about Christ and more about sales, parties, and presents. Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christ.
‘Tis the Season
“It was only four days before Christmas. The spirit of the season hadn’t yet caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our local supermarket store. Inside the store, it was worse. Shopping carts and last minute shoppers jammed the aisles. Why did I come today? I wondered. My feet ached almost as much as my head. My list contained names of several people who claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt if I didn’t buy them anything. Buying for someone who had everything and deploring the high cost of items, I considered gift-buying anything but fun. Hurriedly, I filled my shopping cart with last minute items and proceeded to the long checkout lines. I picked the shortest but it looked as if it would mean at least a 20 minute wait. In front of me were two small children – a boy of about 6 and a younger girl. The boy wore a ragged coat. Enormously large, tattered tennis shoes jutted far out in front of his much too short jeans. He clutched several coins in his grimy hands. The girl’s clothing resembled her brother’s. Her head was a matted mass of curly hair. Reminders of an evening meal showed on her small face. She carried a beautiful pair of shiny, gold house slippers. As the Christmas music played in the store’s stereo system, the girl hummed along, off-key but happily. When we finally approached the checkout register, the girl carefully placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them as though they were a treasure. The clerk rang up the bill. “That will be €6.09,” she said. The boy laid his coins atop the stand while he searched his pockets. He finally came up with €3.12. “I guess we will have to put them back, ” he bravely said. “We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow.” With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. “But Jesus would have loved these shoes, ” she cried. “Well, we’ll go home and work some more. Don’t cry. We’ll come back,” he said. Quickly I handed €3.00 to the cashier. These children had waited in line for a long time. And, after all, it was Christmas. Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small voice said, “Thank you kind sir.” “What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked. The boy answered, “Our mommy is sick and going to heaven. Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus.” The girl spoke, “My school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes.” “Won’t mommy be beautiful walking on those streets to match these shoes?” My eyes flooded as I looked into her tear streaked face. “Yes” I answered, “I am sure she will.” Silently I thanked God for using these children to remind me of the true spirit of giving.” ‘Tis the Season!! Remember that it’s better to give than receive.
Because He came
Because He came to earth, we have a perfect example to follow. As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and happiness in our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example, which if followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and concern for others. Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence. Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or in distress, wherever they may be. Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came. Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life. Because He came, we are gathered tonight to worship Him in bonds of brotherhood and love. May His precious Spirit be with us, and may He ever be the center of our celebrations and indeed of our very lives. Help us this Christmas God to listen to You speaking in our hearts. You give us the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from self-centeredness, from vanity, from using other people, from just not caring enough about those in need. Let the Christ child teach us compassion. Help us this Christmas God to be grateful for all the blessings we have received — family, friends, neighbours, education, opportunities, and so many other gifts. Thank you especially for the gift of faith in you — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; in the still-living Lord Jesus Christ; in Mary, His mother and our mother; and in St. Joseph, my quiet hero. Who would we be without faith? Let the Christ child teach us gratitude. Help us this Christmas to be forgiving people. Christ entered history to do just that. He showed us how to forgive the hurts, the wounds, the unfairness we may have experienced. As He was nailed to a cross He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Let the Christ child teach us forgiveness. Help us this Christmas to be men and women of hope. Christ at the Last Supper faced betrayal, dissolution of community, deceit, torture, and death. On that night, He gave us the sacrament of hope; He gave us Himself; He gave us the Eucharist because He would never leave us. Let the Christ child teach us to hope. Help us this Christmas to be brave. A secular culture that discounts religion and the Catholic vision, horrendous scandals in the Church, and spiritual indifference challenge a believer to put faith into practice. It costs to be Catholic. Let the Christ child teach us courage to put Him at the center of our personal and family lives. This is the spirit of Christmas which I ask that we carry in our hearts.
Be the Christmas Spirit!
Be the Christmas Spirit that enters the home of poverty, causing pale-faced children to open their eyes wide, in pleased wonder. Be the Christmas Spirit that causes the miser’s clutched hand to relax, and thus paint a bright spot on his soul. Be the Christmas Spirit that causes the aged to renew their youth and to laugh in the old, glad way. Be the Christmas Spirit that keeps romance alive in the heart of childhood, and brightens sleep with dreams woven of magic. Be the Christmas Spirit that causes eager feet to climb dark stairways with filled baskets, leaving behind hearts amazed at the goodness of the world. Be the Christmas Spirit that causes the prodigal to pause a moment on his wild, wasteful way, and send to anxious love some little token that releases glad tears—tears which wash away the hard lines of sorrow. Be the Christmas Spirit that enters dark prison cells, reminding scarred humanity of what might have been, and pointing forward to good days yet to be. Be the Christmas Spirit that comes softly into the still, home of pain, and lips that are too weak to speak just tremble in silent, eloquent gratitude. Be the Christmas Spirit in a thousand ways that causes the weary world to look up into the face of God, and for a little moment forget the things that are small and wretched. Be the Christmas Spirit to yourself and to everyone you meet not just at Christmas time but all year through!
Thought for the week
As your thought for the week, especially during this Christmas season, look at ways you can help create a world in which human dignity, faith in God, kindness, mercy, genuineness, forgiveness, love and care is respected and where everyone can reach their full potential. The Christmas story is very simple: it tells of a birth, the birth of a first child to poor parents with an uncertain future. So what is it about the story that holds such appeal, that has allowed so many other stories and traditions to grow up around it? Why does it have such a place in our hearts? Perhaps it has to do with the way it taps into our deepest longings, those things we desire that can help us cope with just about anything: love, faith and trust. There is much generous love in the story, and with it a sense of wonder that God could be so intimately involved with something so simple. Shepherds are amazed, wise men are humbled and a young woman treasures all these things in her heart. In the midst of the love we are all invited, just like the people in the story to trust that God is here and cares deeply as each of us deals with the joys and sorrows , the hopes and disappointments of everyday life especially during these worrying and uncertain times. The Christmas story affirms that we all have a value and a unique dignity that lifts us up and empowers us to move beyond ourselves and to take the risk of reaching out to others, always trusting that God is present in the simple stuff. “Lord, As we celebrate another Christmas, help us to live each moment gratefully. May we have the faith to trust in the gifts you have given us. May we have the hope that overcomes the dark thoughts that sometimes cloud our vision. May we have the love that makes our world a better place. May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope and joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Amen.” Friends, Christmas is God’s sign of affection for us. No matter what your personal situation may be, never doubt that God loves you, accepts you and will never walk away. Through the baby born that day, God embraced the world and embraced each one of us never to let go. That is “the good news of great joy for all the world — on this day a Savior is born who is Christ, the Lord.” Have a happy and holy Christmas.
