Today is Christmas Eve. Many people (myself and my family included) will go to Mass this afternoon or this evening for Christmas. Many will attend the beautiful Midnight Mass. During this year of COVID, I suspect many will not attend Mass at all, either by choice or by diktat.
A few years ago I read an interesting study that said that, in a normal year, only 47% of Americans will attend a church service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. That means that the majority of Americans will have no religious celebration regarding the birth of Jesus. Yet the vast majority will “celebrate’ Christmas. How sad. It reminds me of Mary’s Dream About Christmas.
You see, I think that for these people it will always be Christmas Eve. Sure the calendar will change and they will no doubt exchange gifts and have family get-togethers. And many will say, “Oh, Christmas is all about family.” Well, that may be one part of the equation, but it is far from the whole truth. Christmas is truly all about Jesus. You know the root of the word – Christ-Mass. If Christmas is only about presents and family and food and lights, then the real meaning is missed. They’ll do all the ancillary things, but they’ll never really make it to Jesus. How sad to be so close. How sad to be stuck on Christmas Eve forever…
Father, help us to remember the true meaning of the celebration. May Jesus be born anew in our hearts each and every day. Amen.
Thank you Merry Christmas