“Merry Christmas”

What a day !!!

So many memories of Christmas. As a young boy, I loved our Christmas tree with the tinsel and the lights that bubbled as they heated up. I loved the smell of the tree. I loved the presents under the tree and the anticipation. I loved going to midnight mass coming in from the dark and cold into the church beautifully decorated…the crèche, the music, the lights. I loved the decorations in the town and stores, on the trees and houses, the music on the radio. So many memories… what a day.

Yet to be honest, I would get a little down on Christmas night when I realized that it was coming to an end. Before you know it, we would be taking down the tree and the lights, no more music….I realized the anticipation was so high that the reality never seemed to match it. Why was that ?

Well, I think part of it was that I confused the “accidentals” with the “essence”. The heart of the celebration was not the lights and trees and music and presents. The heart was the truth that the Lord God came to earth as a baby in order to save us. Our new life with God didn’t end on Christmas night, it was just beginning. I’m still trying to embrace that truth in a more full way. Almighty God loves you and me so much. His plan for us is not a joyful day or season, it’s for a joyful eternity… beginning now.  

So, Merry Christmas! May we embrace the grace offered to us this day and allow it to carry us into his ocean of mercy and like a tidal wave may it one day crash onto the shores of heaven. God loves us so much.

Merry Christmas.