The True Meaning of Christmas . . .

It seems that each and every year I receive hundreds of emails, letters and stories that attempt to explain the true meaning of Christmas. Each message arrives with its own take on the meaning of the message. In my Pastor's letters of the past two seasons, I too tried to define the true meaning for each of you. During my first year with you I spoke of peace and last year I wrote about the end of war.

However, as I discern about my message to you this year, I believe that I've discovered the truest of true meaning of Christmas . . . it is family. You ask yourself why family? Well, one of our most treasured ornaments during this season is the manger scene. It was started by St. Francis, and its popularity and significance continues to this day. I've prayed often before a variety of manger scenes and I've always been reminded and comforted in the symbol of Christmas as the true origin of family (. . .the lonely virgin . . . the mature carpenter . . . seemingly set up on a blind date by an angel named Gabriel . . . Ah! the proverbial marriage made in Heaven).

As we all know, marriage truly transforms to family when a child is born. With the arrival of the child, love truly transcends from the state of exclusive to the beauty of inclusive. How blessed are we to be given that small family from Nazareth as our family and that small child as our brother.

Thus, I repeat that our great gift this season is the love of family. Ask the elder who sits alone, day in and day out, what he/she wants for Christmas . . . it would be the love of a family. Likewise, the hope and dream of any child experiencing isolation is that he/she would be embraced in the peaceful arms of family.

We travel hundreds of mile to spend one day with each other . . . to laugh . . . to sing . . . to be family. Christmas remains the birth of a child and the start of family.

My prayers and blessings this Christmas season for each of you that you experience the love of your family and that you share in the love of God's family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Fr. Bob

December 25, 2005