Restore the joy of Christmas to my heart

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

In my search for prayers I came across this quote from Fr. Andrew Greeley:

It might be easy to run away to a monastery, away from the commercialization, the hectic hustle, the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time. Then we would have a holy Christmas. But we would forget the lesson of the Incarnation, of the enfleshing of God—the lesson that we who are followers of Jesus do not run from the secular; rather we try to transform it. It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas just as the early Christians baptized the Christmas tree. And we do this by being holy people—kind, patient, generous, loving, laughing people—no matter how maddening is the Christmas rush…

 (Woman's Day, 12-22-81)

We, as Christians, are called to be IN the world, but not OF the world.  Insulated but not isolated.  "It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas".  A challenging mission, but not exactly Mission Impossible (can you hear the theme music playing in the background?). 

So rather than trying to run away from the busy-ness and stress of the season, let's re-focus on the baby in the manger, and on those around us who need to be ministered to at this time.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

Please forgive me for being so grumpy as I trudge through the never-ending tasks set before me this holiday season. 

My to-do list seems to keep growing with shopping, church services, and family gatherings and I'm running short of time! 

Restore the joy of Christmas to my heart and help me to relax each day and make time for YOU — my one true Source of Joy.

(http://www.suite101.com/content/christian-prayers-and-blessings-for-christmas-a304969#ixzz18HKnIelq)

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.