Today, the 4th day of Christmas, and the Feast of the Holy Innocents, is a great day for me to reflect. You see I'm home today as I rebound from a morning colonoscopy which turned out to be great news! You can imagine how tired I am because for the uninitiated you don't get much sleep the night before. Also, a colonoscopy does require anesthesia and to that I say thank God. In an indirect way this procedure was necessary post appendix removal surgery as recommended by my surgeon. But past history also indicated I should have one and now I can scratch this off the list.
The occasion of my appendix event has also brought on a new approach and new attitude to getting healthy. As many of you know I am a type 2 diabetic and have had other challenges over time so getting healthier is a great idea. I shared on Facebook yesterday that I have lost 24 lbs. since the appendix removal and 44 lbs. since April. That's a good thing. And both my blood sugar and A1C are coming way down from there scary highs of just a few months past.
So today I reflect and pose the question how is your Christmas going? How are you planning to celebrate the fullness of Christmas which does not end for quite some time yet? And when you answer these questions is your barometer as the world measures or as our faith life should measure?
Spending time with family, spending time at Church throughout the season; these are good measurements. These are better than how many gifts did you buy, how much money did I spend, how many family members and friends did I try to accommodate, etc.? I think it can be hard for many of us to allow the Christmas season, with all it's faith and liturgical traditions, to be our guide. I for one embrace Advent all the way to Christmas Eve in the afternoon. Now that does not mean my wife and I don't put up the tree or the lights on the porch and we even might shop some before Advent ends. But our focus, all the way to December 24th in the afternoon is Advent. I mention the afternoon, either with Evening Prayer I of Christmas or the assisting as a Deacon at one of the Christmas anticipatory Masses is when I usher in Christmas. Some of you still might hold on to the tradition of Midnight Mass although finding one that actually starts at Midnight is harder and harder. This year at our parish the Mass of the night was offered in the Extraordinary Form a.k.a. the Latin Mass. I almost always have an assignment on Christmas morning and this year that was the 8 a.m. Mass. After an exchange of gifts before more family arrives we have a big Christmas lunch and mostly my family comes in for the event, illnesses this year kept several people away. On Christmas night, usually in some form of prayer, I remind myself about the need to keep celebrating Christmas because it is far from over as the 25th gives way to the 26th. I hope none of you view Christmas night as a time to take down the tree and box up all the Christmas decorations. One of the things I used to hate to see was the neighbors tree at the curb tossed aside for the garbage truck. In good faith-filled Catholicism, that can never happen.
So here comes Day 2 of Christmas which in my world means Wendy's birthday. Yes my wife has a birthday on the day after Christmas. And yes, if it is a weekday, I have to go to work. Since I entered formation for the diaconate and certainly since becoming a Deacon the 26th also means the celebration of the Feast of St. Stephen. In our Archdiocese all the Permanent Deacons are invited to gather together for Mass and fellowship and we have attended in the past, but sometimes we just do Happy birthday things for Wendy. This year I was slated to preach at the regular morning Mass this day at St. Jane's which turned into a Communion Service. I'm just glad I was able to accommodate. And we prayed that our Priests got to feeling better soon.
And then the season continues as the Octave continues and soon the focus of the secular world shifts to New Years, more specifically the eve of New Year. In fact, as Catholics, we remember that it is still Christmas and carols sung, decorations up and the salutation Merry Christmas are still all appropriate. I still have no solid plans for things like ringing in the New Year but I do have the opportunity to preach at three Masses for the weekend's Feast of the Holy Family. I also hope to take in the Latin Mass for January 1st. And guess what? After New Years Day, it's still Christmas. Yes, the Octave is over but the season continues, all the way to the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Then, and maybe then, the tree comes down, the boxes packed and put away and we say farewell to the Christmas season, although many celebrate to February 2nd.
So how is Christmas going? Has it been an opportunity to experience and give great love, to demonstrate and receive abundant kindness? I sure hope so. Has it been a time of profound prayer and deep reflection? For some of us it will be a time of struggle and even despair, do you know that there are others praying for you and willing to help you? Never be afraid to express that need or simply apply for help.
I hope tonight you turn the lights on the tree, light a fire, spend time with someone you love, send a prayer in thanksgiving for this gift of the Christmas season. Heck, play some Christmas music or watch a Christmas movie.
Hey world, Christmas is still underway!
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