Here’s a great video of Celtic Woman singing this beautiful carol.

Amy Grant sings her own carol about what she wants most for Christmas and always.

As the year closes, I think it is important to remember and thank those who have helped make this year a success. This has been a hard year, financially for you and for our parish. That’s why the Spirit of Christmas is so important and why faithful Christians can be joyous even if the economic indicators show bad times ahead. Christians, while living in the world, are called to be not of the world, and we know that economic booms and busts are just part of living on this planet. On the other hand, keeping one’s earthly life in perspective as a temporary situation while looking forward to life eternal is the entire message of Jesus Christ.

The mark of the true Christian is a willingness to give of oneself freely for the sake of loving God and neighbor. Further, the committed Catholic’s very life should be a lifelong prayer offered to God. That forces us to reexamine our priorities. We must ask ourselves, is our commitment to our faith sufficiently strong so as to make this happen? I’ve had several individuals, with a perfectly straight face, ask me from time to time to curtail the length of my Mass because it makes them late for afternoon football on TV. Football is cool, I guess (I don’t really care for it), but when it becomes so important that prayer is tossed in favor of a game, well, a good examination of conscience is necessary. The same goes for failing to honor our obligation to attend Sunday Mass each and every week. What does casually forgiving ourselves of our promise to grow in the faith say about our relationship with the God who loves us so unconditionally? Freely giving of oneself is the very mark of the true Christian.

And with that being said, I want to thank all who have recognized their Christian call to serve God and neighbor and have continued to give so generously of themselves for the sake of God’s Kingdom in the year 2008. These include our Parochial Vicar, Fr. Ridley, our two deacons, the staff, the catechists, the Finance and Parish Councils, the volunteers, the choir, the lectors, the altar servers, the Eucharistic Ministers, the Women’s Guild, the Bible Study coordinators and participants, the Knights of Columbus, those who cook and help with our monthly pasta dinner, those who have organized the Giving Tree, the Remembrance Tree, and the Christmas Pageant, our Trustees, our sexton, and our parking lot safety team. If I’ve forgotten anybody, sorry. So many helpers is an indicator of spiritual growth. And each and every one of you who come to Mass to be part of our community and contribute to the support of your parish. YOU are the Spirit of Christmas, and I love you all.

We have many plans for 2009 to make this a better parish and to be a more effective outreach of Christ’s love to each other. Wait till you see what we have planned for Epiphany! Come, be part of our gift to ourselves in Jesus’ name! Give yourself as a present to Jesus Christ this Christmas and this year by giving yourself as a gift to your parish and your family. Forget about receiving, focus on giving.

We’re delighted and thankful that you’re here.

Merry Christmas with love.

Here’s the wonderful Amy Grant singing one of her classics - enjoy!

Here’s a video about letting go of the cares of this world and holding on to a new life of faith.

Last week, I was appalled to see the news item on the TV which described the trampling death of a Walmart security employee. In case you haven’t heard, a young fellow hired to do security work for the Christmas season found himself with the unenviable task of having to open the doors of the Long Island store at some ridiculously early time (4am, 5am, what’s that all about??) and was met with an onrush of shoppers who physically broke down the doors as soon as he turned the key and trampled this unfortunate person to death. The police arrived and cordoned off the entryway, and then proceeded to close the store, as it was now a crime scene. As the shoppers were being herded out, (herded is a good word for people who had acted like animals…) many complained that it ‘wasn’t fair’ that they had to leave, as they had been waiting for hours. Poor entitled persons were upset about being deprived of their right to shop, I guess.

Let’s see if I’m getting this straight. Looking for a bargain on stuff (for Christmas???) a mob creates a surge which damages the building and takes a life. Over his now-lifeless body they rush to be the first to get 60% off or whatever on a 50 big screen TV, (why pay more??) displaying absolutely no human compassion or care for the horrible thing they’ve just done. Then, being told that they can’t get their precious stuff, they complain that their rights have been trampled upon!

I’m writing this on Thursday morning, having just proclaimed the Gospel for the daily Mass in which Jesus, in the seventh chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

I’d love to interview those people who surged the door and killed that young man. I’m willing to bet that the majority of them were baptized Christians. And I’m willing to bet that a large percentage of them, having accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior as the saying goes, are positive that when they die, they will be going straight to heaven, their personal behavior notwithstanding. Hey, why bother worrying about asking forgiveness for our sins and preparing for Christmas when we can have the NFL in high-definition on a screen big enough to use as a lifeboat? Too bad about the kid, but TVs are important! Now, am I the only one who sees this as a bit ambiguous? Is greed and manslaughter doing the will of God? The utter selfishness of what happened! All this to buy Christmas gifts at a cheaper price? If they were seeking Christmas gift giving items, maybe the first item they should acquire in their shopping carts is real Christianity. Let’s all learn a lesson from this sad episode: gift giving should be a sign of charity, a mirroring of the charity that God himself showed when he sent his only beloved Son to us as a gift, which resulted in our redemption. If Christ is removed from the season, this kind of Unchristian vulgarity is inevitable. May God help us to truly honor Christ in our gift giving, by giving, and shopping, as Christians.

Here’s a video about the wonders that God can work within.

Enjoy this concert performance about the wonders of God.