DID WE REALLY CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?
“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews?’
. . . .
“After their audience with King Herod, they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Mt 2:1-11
This week’s Gospel, especially the closing lines, holds special insights for us if we connect them to some of the events that occurred during the past week:
- The Gospels, this Sunday and last, are about shepherds and magi gathering around a newborn child.
- In between: We, mentally, emotionally, prayerfully, spent much of the week, like the shepherds and magi, kneeling around a young man, praying for him to survive and be “re-born.”
DID WE REALLY CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?
Every year we celebrate the Christmas season, paying more attention to the truly non-essential trappings of Christmas. We tend to spend so much time on material presents and holiday festivities and so little time on what, more than anything else, we need to do: the shepherd and magi thing – search for the gift that has real value and then kneel and pay homage to Jesus, the God-become-human. This year, we are getting a post-Christmas push to do that now.
I hope the picture above encourages you to take the time now and during every future Christmas season, to ponder the things that are important to God. What is it in you and in your life that you think are important to God? How important are they to you?
MORE ON DAMAR HAMLIN AND HIS CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL TRAINING
Did you know that the Buffalo Bills football player injured in Monday’s game is a graduate of the same Christian Brothers high school as two former NFL players: Dan Marino and Stefen Wisniewski – winner of two Super Bowl rings (Eagles – Super Bowl LII, Chiefs – LIV)? The Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School website opens with six words: “Men of Faith, Scholarship and Service”, and Brother Tony says, “At Central Catholic High School, We’re Building Men of Character.”
Let’s continue to pray for Damar, his family, friends and teammates. Let’s find some time to drink in some of what his Christian Brother community is seeking to instill in their students: to be people of faith, scholarship and service. Let’s examine our own lives and commit ourselves to being people of faith, scholarship and service. Here are two of the school’s inspirational videos from the CCHS website.
Sister Loretta
We’re Building Men of Character (4 minutes)
Alumni Virtual Speaker Series: Faith, Family and Football with Stefen Wisniewski, ’07 (an 8-minute piece of a 49-minute video)