Come early for the best back seats! They always come for Christmas. There is something hauntingly special about the feast. Often the preparation for it is a bit strange. Perhaps that’s because of the world we live in.

Advent is the season of hope. Part of its mystery lies in waiting, reminding us that there is still something unfulfilled in our lives. In the bible waiting is presented as a creative moment when we grow spiritually as we allow ourselves to be touched by God.

Our preparations often find us caught up in chronic business as if we only feel good when we are doing something. Emerging ourselves in activity numbs our inner needs, temporarily at least. But there is an uneasiness about it all which makes some say, “I dread the thought of Christmas!” It’s the preparations they make that they are referring to.

I often think that children are God’s apostles sent to preach love, life, tolerance and peace to us. For the best things in life are not things but people. We all need material things but the non-material aspects of life are so important and for so many and these may be all they have. For many the value of the feast will rest on the intangibles. These things have kept people together and provided them with emotional security. As the old lady said in a distraught moment, “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m going to those who love me”.

At the Christmas Mass liturgy we share a togetherness that could not be reached by any other means. The carols can stir in the memory a Christmas of old, soothe and make us pensive. But it’s not just a sentimental occasion. The crib, which is the great visual aid to the feast, gives a new emphasis to the World and his place in the world. There we are confronted by the mystery of it all as we ponder and wonder at the mystery of God which is love. We become part of a community celebrating faith, life and love and expressing these in gestures of gentleness, care, music and song. Sometimes that may touch a faith that has dimmed but not died. At that moment they seem to wallow in it as they allow themselves to be touched by God. A chance phrase can dredge up a flood of memories.

The time between now and Christmas is gift. It enables us to reflect on our lives, to grow in hope. May it be a very special and happy Christmas for you and yours!

– Fr. Jimmy