The Christmas Season

I am still thoroughly enjoying the Christmas season. This year has been my best Christmas in many years. All of those little things seem to be going so well. This is a year that I will cherish for a long time.

I said Mass on Christmas Eve at a MetroWest parish to assist a good friend. I was glad to help him out. Following those two Masses we visited a mutual friend who married into an Italian family. We therefore had the full seven course fish (including lobster) meal. The generosity of this family was super-abundant.

During one of the conversations, a young woman approached me to tell me how grateful she was for the simple homily I gave at Mass. She said that it spoke to people of her generation. We were able to talk about what moved her. I was touched that these words helped out a group of people who seldom feel so connected with the larger church.

The next morning I visited my mother and siblings. We had a nice roast beef meal and a nice time having our traditional Christmas food. My brother and his girlfriend showed up, which was a pleasant surprise. I played Wii with my niece and in one of the games I held my own against her. My thumbs don't work as quickly as hers. She is always helping me out and dragging me to the right places. It was fun to play in a game where I was not the anchor weighing down the progress of the game.

I then spent an evening dinner with friends in Rockport. Their son and daughter were with them and it was a pleasure to have a nice evening with them. They are very generous and loving people. I even attended breakfast the next morning when other mutual friends showed up.

All in all, it was lovely.

I spent the following days preparing for the End-of-Year Christmas retreat, which is going on right now. The Lessons and Carols needed major effort and I think it came out well. I love singing Christmas carols and we seldom get to sing them unless we are at church for daily Mass. The End-of-Year retreat is always a special time to unpack the gifts of Christmas and letting the season unfold over the octave. Too many people see Christmas as only Christmas Day. In this retreat, we get to enjoy it and let the words of Christ speak to us.

Two particular treats for me was being able to watch "Going My Way" with Bing Crosby as the priest and "The Polar Express." I have developed into a Bing fan because he sings so effortless and beautiful words sail out of his mouth. It is amazing how he technically does that. "The Polar Express" was likewise touching. I will never look at a single jingle bell in the same way. This fall, I've been able to see movies that I've never been able to afford myself time to watch previously. I loved "Gone with the Wind." I saw "White Christmas" for the first time last year. "The Bishop's Wife" was also fun and stellar.

As much fun and imaginative that the movies are, real life is even more unbelievable. Newspaper articles are filled with surprising stories of events you wouldn't think possible. Sometimes just having a simple, uneventful life is worth more than a life of adventure.

This Christmas, as Bing sings in "White Christmas," I am just counting my blessings. They are very many.