Palestinian Manan Abu Abuayash holds her baby Maram, 6 months, while lighting candles Dec. 20, 2015, in the Church of the Nativity where tradition believes Christ was born in Bethlehem, West Bank. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill)
EMBRACING FAMILY
Did you find that you had the good intentions to make a beautiful spiritual journey this Advent Season … and it hasn’t come to fruition? Or maybe you haven’t even begun it at all?
Maybe you wanted an Advent calendar with acts of kindness every day (and not just chocolate) or maybe you wanted to pray every day as a family. Did you want to volunteer each week or have decorations that reflected the real meaning of Christmas?
Don’t worry. Luckily, our God is a forgiving, compassionate and merciful God who loves us even with our failings and shortcomings. He is waiting for us with open arms. Begin today. Let’s not wait until Advent 2021 to implement our Advent plans.
Now that Christmas is here, maybe we can take our Advent resolutions (an act of kindness every day, volunteering every week, praying daily as a family) and turn them into Christmas resolutions! Christmas is more than a day, more than presents under the tree. It’s a season and is celebrated until the Epiphany. While it’s not as long as the four weeks of Advent, it will be almost two weeks. In fact, maybe some of our Christmas resolutions will become part of our New Year’s resolutions for us and our families!
Our resolutions should help encourage us to have Christ at the center of our families. We recently saw a car magnet and ordered it. It has a picture of the Nativity with the words, “Every family needs a stable foundation.” May Christ be born in our hearts, our families, and our homes this Christmas and every day. May he be the solid foundation for our families as we welcome 2021 with its blessings and its challenges, and hopefully the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Let’s also take a few minutes to lift up in prayer all of those who have loved ones who are ill or have died. There are so many people around the world celebrating Christmas vastly different than in 2019. This year, our gatherings will be smaller, if at all. Our Christmas Mass will have no singing. We will be wearing face masks, socially distancing, and wondering when we can get the COVID-19 vaccine. Many families are suffering due to decreased income or unemployment. Many are tired and feeling stressed.
Let’s lift them up in prayer and help in any way that we can. Let’s invite Christ into our hearts and homes. He is the Reason for this Season. Let’s focus on Him, on those in need, and on our families, all of which cannot be gift-wrapped and are far more valuable than any presents under the tree.
We’d love to hear from you, Hawaii Catholic Herald readers, on what resolutions your family decided to implement for the Christmas season. Will any of them become New Year’s resolutions? If you have questions you would like addressed in “Embracing Family,” please email them to Sarah and David Herrmann at Success@EmbraceFamilyLearning.com and we would be honored to lift you up in prayer and respond, as well! If desired, you may remain anonymous.
