A "Weird" Christmas

By -

Merry Christmas and thank you for all of the warm Christmas greetings!  I hope you continue to enjoy the season! I have really enjoyed all of the family pictures on social media over the last couple of days.

It occurred to me, since I know that behind several of the gatherings and smiles, many of you were missing parents, children and spouses, you still found ways to laugh and smile and enjoy the people you were with.  That's wonderful!

I think you are living proof that we can rise above our hardships and grief and that it is okay to still laugh and celebrate, because Jesus is born! 

Because of circumstances, our Christmas was "weird" this year as plans unexpectedly changed for various reasons out of our control, but we, too, still managed to figure out a way to mostly make it work. We will have to celebrate with the grandkids later in the week, but it is completely understandable.

We couldn't make it to church because we were exposed to Covid and wanted to keep others safe, just in case; we continue to be so grateful for parishes that still livestream Mass. My mother-in-law could not make it to Christmas Mass either, due to age and weather, (she lives up north), but my husband pointed out to her that since the priest celebrated Mass for them two days before Christmas, she may have actually celebrated on the day Jesus was born--since we don't know exactly when that was!

Regardless of what your Christmas looked like, good for you for letting the light of Christ penetrate any darkness trying to seep in.  Whenever we choose Jesus, we reject satan, who tries to ruin everything, all the time.

The older I get, the more I find belief in God essential.  The more I realize the impact faith has on my choices in life and my hope for the future.

As you begin to think about the new year, please make room for God.  As we heard so often this past weekend, he loves us so much and greatly desires our happiness.  Do not overthink this.  Just look around you and see the beauty and wonder of creation and choose to accept that it is not a fluke of nature.

Merry Christmas!

Janet Cassidy

#covid
#faith
#mass




 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more