Since I don’t send many Christmas Cards, I thought I would send a bunch of them to all of you who are reading this column. Here are some of my favorite cards for Christmas.
First, this card shows Santa sitting at table with his parents. The mother asks him: “Don’t you think what you’re doing is a little strange?” Hmmm, let’s see: Travelling at faster than the speed of light; bringing gifts to over six billion households; doing all of this in a single night. What’s strange or unusual about that?
Remember the stages of belief: Stage one, we believe in Santa. Stage two, we don’t believe. Stage three, we are Santa. Thanks to all the Santas.
The second card shows Four Wise Men. The caption reads: “Unbeknownst to most theologians, there was a fourth wiseman, who was turned away for bringing a fruitcake.” However, I say: To all of you who baked fruitcakes, thanks. I like them. In fact, I’ve never met a calorie I didn’t like!
My third favorite card show a young boy pointing a flash light out the window, looking for Santa. Just out of sight, on the rooftop, Santa is hiding, hushing the reindeer. I loved the picture. We can’t see Santa because he’s always where we are not looking!
Can the same be said of God? We can only see God if we look with eyes of faith. We often look at the things that ‘go wrong’ or ‘seem bad’ and doubt God. If we focus on all the good things, and all the ‘things that go right’, we always see God.
A fourth card came in the form of a memo. It read as follows:
“To whom it may concern: This is to inform you that you are wished a merry period of time up to and including December 25th and a happy period of time after, but not including, December 31st. The dates, December 26th to December 31st inclusive, can also, for purposes of this wish, be considered a time of merriment and/or happiness, at your discretion. Please be advised that wishes for peace, goodwill, comfort, and joy are also in effect as of this correspondence.” Inside the card, it reads: “Thank you for you cooperation”.
I would encourage you to celebrate each day as Christmas – each day as an opportunity for God to come to us, and to be born into this world through us.
Which leads to a fifth favorite card. The verse on the front of the card reads as follows:
“Christmas is more than a day at the end of the year,
More than a day of joy and good cheer.
Christmas is really God’s pattern for living,
To be followed each day by unselfish giving.
Then peace on earth will come to stay,
When we live Christmas every day.”
Ironically, my sixth favorite card was not a Christmas Card, but an ‘Encouragement Card’. It was entitled: Blessings In Disguise. It is written by Emily Matthews. This verse is worth meditating on when tough times come in the New Year:
“The world is full of miracles to those who recognize them,
But we have to look the right way, since God sometimes will disguise them.
He shines His light in places where we’d least expect Him to,
And often does the opposite of what we think He’ll do.
He has a way of bringing out the best within the worst
The moment we stop worrying and choose to put Him first.
And if we do, He’ll pull us through and help us find the door
That opens to the very thing that we’d been looking for.”
The Christmas story of no room in the inn had special meaning this year.
As some of you know, I give frequent weekend retreats at St. Joseph’s-In-The-Hills in Malvern, Pa. For over 70 years men have been coming there on the weekends. Up to 300 men are in attendance on any given weekend.
As you can imagine, prior registration is required in order to handle such large numbers. However, shortly before Christmas a man called the Retreat Center about 5 on ?Friday evening, just before supper. He asked if they had room for him. Although it was really crowded this particular weekend, the man who answered the phone said, “There’s always room. Come on over.”
The man arrived a few hours later, carrying only a wooden box in his hands– no suitcases, no clothes. He went to the conferences, the Masses, the Penance service and various other spiritual activities.
At the end of the retreat he went to see the rector, Father Dennis O’Donnell. While talking to Father O’Donnell he opened the box he had been carrying and there was a gun inside.
He said, “When I called on Friday night, I was standing in Valley Forge State Park and I had this gun in my hand. If there had been no room for me I was going to blow my brains out.”
He continued, “I haven’t solved all my problems this weekend, but my life is a lot better.”
He gave the gun to Father Dennis.
I tell this story because, while it is quite dramatic, I’m not sure it is all that unique. I’m willing to bet that every priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and probably everywhere else, has heard the confession of someone who had been away from the sacraments for years. No doubt many of the penitents were filled with shame and remorse and fount it hard to enter the confessional. The experience, however, may well have saved their lives.
At every church on Christmas, Masses were packed with people. Again, many of these people may not have been inside a church fo years. But I’m willing to bet that they were touched by the beauty of the service– the music the proclamation of the Word, the Eucharistic presence o God, the sense of welcome, the beauty of the decorations.
Probably few of the priests and pastoral ministers realized that they were saving lives. In fact, many who were so touched may simply have slipped away in the darkness, like the shepherds in the Christmas story. But they may have been forever changed by that experience.
That’s the power of the institutional church. Organized religion gets bashed fairly regularly today. Out sins, real and imagined, are well advertised. But I don’t think the incredible good the church does can every be estimated, or even know.
Through some dark times and dark ages, the Catholic Church has copied and preserved the Scriptures, kept the Eucharistic presence o God alive, maintained and preserved hospitals and schools and performed every kind of spiritual or corporal work of mercy.
At the entrance to St. Bartholomew’s church, where the saintly Father Mike Roach is pastor, there is the sign: “Silence Please. You are in the presence of Jesus.”
That presence has been preserved for these 2005 years. In work and sacrament, in social action and quiet meditation, Jesus lives.
And eery church keeps the sanctuary lamp lit. “They leave the light on for you”, so that all people will know that there’s always room in the inn.
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” That’s an oft-quoted opening line from a less well read novel, A Tale fo Two Cities. As we transition from the church’s Christmas season to ordinary time, we realize each season is both the best and the worst.
The joy of Christmas lightens our spirits. The consumerism of Christmas can weigh heavily in our hearts. The meanness of ordinary life can dishearten us. The knowledge that Christ goes with us each day of life encourages us. We need to remember that while evil is real, God is more real. In other words, evil is real, but limited. God is real and unlimited. Choose to focus on good and God and you will be able to get through the dark times.
A true story that helps to capture the good and the bad of each season concerns a parish Christmas party that I attended. (I will no mention the name of the parish to protect the guilty)
The gift exchange consisted of a table with approximately 20 gifts on it, one for each staff member. Each member was given a number. As the number was called, a person would select a gift, unwrap it, show it to everyone else and return to his or her table. As each succeeding number was called that person could either select a wrapped gift from the table or take one of the gifts someone else had already chosen.
Needless to say, there was much laughter and merriment as people kept taking the favored gifts from each other.
All except for on table. A young lady had brought her young children to the party. They had selected on of the popular gifts. When someone took it from them there were tow very different reactions.
The little girl nearly cried: “This isn’t fair. We played by the rules. They shouldn’t take our gift!” By contrast, her little brother yelled, “Yay! Now we can steal someone else’s gift.”
Now for those who might be worried, the person who took their gift, gave it back to them at the end of the party. So everyone won. The little girl got the favored gift back. Her little brother got to steal someone else’s gift! The only loser was the kind young man who returned the gift. He ended up with no gift at all.
Without doubt, the most popular talk I am requested go give by home school associations, Knights of Columbus, sodalities, days of recollection parish missions and the like is my talk titled, “The ?Different Worlds of Men and Women.”
After every talk, two reactions always occur. Someone will say, “I wish I had heard your talk 20 years ago. It sure would have stopped a lot of arguing in my family.” The other reaction is, “Father Joe, you may have saved my marriage tonight.”
Differences, as the story indicates, start early.
Let’s take a look at the different reactions to 9/11. The feminine part of us didn’t want conflict or war. “If you want peace, work for justice.” We wanted to share, to play fair, to address the injustices of the world that breed angry young terrorists.
The masculine part of us responded competitively, “They hit us, let’s hit them. They took our land, let’s take theirs.”
Wisdom recognizes the tension of dealing with evil. We do need to be strong enough o resist evil, so we need the military for national protection and police for local protection. Wisdom also recognizes the limits of power, You can win a battle and lose a wary if you have not brought justice, given people hope for a just and happy future.
The Christian response at the party went beyond human wisdom. Sometimes we do have to lose what we have so that others can have anything at all. Evil is real. We have to be strong to resist it, strong militarily t resist perpert4ators of evil; strong morally to work fo justice and strong in spirit to die so others may live. Even Christmas parties reflect life’s perplexities.
Mission Statements attempt to define our purpose as parishes as well as our purpose as individuals. Some statements sound wonderful, but never get translated into action. I’ll never forget, as a teenager, working at a Gino’s hamburger joint. (Gino’s lost out, eventually to McDonald’s.) In their handbook was the grandiose statement: “Every customer is entitled to a warm, nourishing meal”. Judging by the grease on every french fry and burger, I don’t think that ‘mission statement’ was ever fulfilled! (I forgave them, of course, since Gino Marchetti was my favorite Colt, next to Johnny Unitas and Art Donvovan.)
The Gallup organization does a lot of work with Churches of every denomination. St. Margaret’s in Bel Air used them as consultants. One of the things they teach about Mission Statements is that: “If a Mission Statement can’t be put on a bumper sticker it won’t be effective”. Like the statement in Gino’s handbook, it may edify those who spent long hours writing it, but may not inspire many others to change their lives to implement it.
How would we translate a statement into a bumper sticker? Well, ask yourself: “In three or four words, what are we trying to tell people about our parish?” Then put that on bumper stickers as ways to advertise your parish and to energize your people. Here are a few suggested stickers:
“God Lives Here” – St. Clement’s Parish. “Live, Love, Laugh” – Annunciation Parish. “Miracles Still Happen Here” – Immaculate Conception. “We’re Well-Bread People” –Corpus Christi. “Still Building God’s Home” –St. Joseph’s. “Doing God’s Work” – St. Patrick’s. “Giving Birth To God – Our Lady of …”
Just a few suggestions to inspire more creative ideas.
Besides a Parish Mission Statement, what about a personal Mission Statement? What’s the purpose of my life? What makes sense of my life?
St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, put together a whole series of spiritual exercises. Here’s how Father Mark Link, a Jesuit, summarizes St. Ignatius’s guidelines for living. Wouldn’t this be a marvelous, personal Mission Statement?
“I believe that I was created to share my life and love with God and other people, forever. I believe that God created all other things to help me achieve this goal. I believe, therefore, that I should use the other things God created insofar as they help me attain my goal and abstain from them insofar as they hinder me. It follows, therefore, that I should not prefer certain things to others. That is, I should not value, automatically, health over sickness, wealth over poverty, honor over dishonor, or a long life over a short life. I believe my sole norm for valuing and preferring a thing should be this: How well does it help me attain the end for which I was created?”
Can I make that the Mission Statement of my life. At first glance, it seems too hard. Who wouldn’t prefer health to sickness, wealth to poverty, a long life to a short life? Yet, if I have health, wealth, and a long life, but I don’t have God, what do I have? And if I have sickness, poverty, and a short life, but have God, then I have everything!
“Seek first the Kingdom of God”, was how Jesus put it. “Put God First” is how a bumper sticker might put it. If we make God’s purpose our purpose in life, then the words of my favorite bumper sticker come true: “Don’t Postpone Joy”.
Some Belated Christmas Cards
Catholic Review, January 7, 2004
There’s always room in church
Catholic Review, January 13, 2005
Ordinary perplexing times
Catholic Review, January 20, 2005
What’s your personal mission statement?
Catholic Review, January 27, 2005
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