In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
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The Christmas Envelope
Today we celebrate the birthday of Jesus, the Son of God, and the Son of Mary. The gathering of family and sharing of bountiful meals is part of that celebration. The giving and receiving gifts is also rooted in this age-old tradition. We give thanks to God for his beloved Son and for the feeling of love and peace in our hearts. This is a time for being reconciled with family and friends. It certainly is a time for all of the above. For me, the feeling of love and peace in our hearts is what really contributes to the joy of the Christmas season. It reminds me of the story about the Christmas Envelope:
"It's just a small,
white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no
identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree
for the past 10 years or so. It all
began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of
Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it. Overspending -- the frantic running
around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder
for Grandma -- the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of
anything else. Knowing he felt this way,
I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I
reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual
way.
Our son Kevin, who was
12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended, and
shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored
by an inner-city church, mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so
ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together,
presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms
and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see
that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet
designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team
obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them, taking every
weight class. As each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in
his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't
acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside
me, shook his head sadly, I wish just one of them could have won; he said. They
have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of
them. Mike loved kids, all kids, and he knew them, having coached little league
football, baseball and lacrosse. That's
when the idea for his present came. That
afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of
wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city
church.
On Christmas Eve, I
placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done
and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about
Christmas that year and in succeeding years.
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a group
of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a
pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before
Christmas, and on and on. The envelope
became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on
Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with
wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal
its contents. As the children grew, toys gave way to more practical presents,
but the envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn't end there.
You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us."
May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For the measure with which you measure will in turn be measured out to you (Luke 6:38)." May your Christmas be filled with loving, peaceful, grateful and joyful feelings!
Fr.
Joe
In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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