Dear Friends in Christ,
It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. As in past years, we will see many visitors joining us for Mass. How wonderful! This is an incredible opportunity for each and every one of us to welcome others to our beautiful parish community with the love of Christ! It is the Lord himself who brings these wonderful people to us so that we can share the joy of our Lord’s birth and our salvation in Christ. Each and every woman, man, and child is a gift, a Christmas gift, to us.
While we may be accustomed to the story of big crowds at Christmas Mass, we are not always aware of the stories of people’s lives and faith journeys. Every individual has a story of what brings them to St. John Vianney. For some, their story may be a joyful custom or family tradition. For others, their story may be their on-going search for spiritual meaning and understanding. While for others, their story may be one born of pain, hurt, grief, or loss. And there will be some whose story is unknown even to themselves. The most important part is realizing that, for each person, it is ultimately God who has brought them here and God has something special for each person. That goes for you and me as well.
Another aspect of this beautiful time of year is realizing the wonderful gift of God’s graces and blessings that await us in Holy Mass. While the music, the decorations, and the festive atmosphere are all wonderful, the gift that God most wants for us is far greater than these. What God most desires is to enter our hearts and into our lives. What He wants is for us to have a profound moment of personal encounter with Him in love and for that moment of encounter to grow every day of our lives. Simply put, God calls and invites us to Holy Mass at Christmas and every Sunday, so that we can live in friendship with Him and He can live in us. How sublime and how beautiful it is when we can come to Mass and express our love to the Lord and experience His love for us.
Like so many other things in life, when it comes to Mass, we get out what we put in. If we rush to get here, cram Mass in between whatever else is on our Christmas schedule of events; gripe about the parking and crowds, act nonchalant, fail to engage, let everything distract us and do nothing to spiritually or emotionally prepare our hearts for an encounter with the Lord, should we be surprised with lackluster results or takeaways that are only superficial? Treat yourself to taking some quiet time to pray the Readings ahead of time, reflect on your spiritual “Christmas list”, thank God for your blessings, ask God to be with those who are far from Him, share a family moment with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, wish Jesus a Happy Birthday, and tell Him that you love Him. The more we give, the more we open ourselves to receive the blessings He wants to give us.
Lest we forget, Christmas can also be a time of pain, confusion, fear, and anxiety for many. Maybe the best thing for those folks this Christmas is for all of us to ACT like followers of Jesus – treating them with love and kindness, acceptance and understanding. Instead of trying to water down, repackage or change the message of the Gospel to make it more popular, maybe we can just simply and authentically live it. When we live our daily lives following Jesus as best we can, then we will all be better. Holiness is the key to happiness! When we trust the Lord without fear, give our cares to him, do our best, let go of our sinful habits, forgive others their faults and seek forgiveness for ours, bear wrongs patiently, see the good in everyone and every situation, give thanks and praise to God for the blessings we have, we will become closer to Jesus, and that helps others too. Be not afraid to love Jesus with all your heart and to share the love of Jesus with others!