Buon Natale, Wesolych Swiat or Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia, Maligayang Pasko, Feliz Navidad or Joyeux Noël, it all comes down to Merry Christmas! Happily, I have the privilege of spending Christmas and the New Year in Rome while celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the founding of our Community The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. I will be keeping you all in prayer as we gather.
It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, and of course A Charlie Brown Christmas, movies I am sure we have seen around this time. Recently, I was reminded of another movie, by Leo Tolstoy, Martin the Cobbler. Actually, I had forgotten about this story, and just in case you have, here is a brief summary.
Martin is a poor cobbler, and he is promised in a dream that Jesus will come to visit him. The next day, as he awaits Jesus’ coming, a beggar comes in looking for some rest. Martin gives him the room that he had prepared for Jesus. Later that day, an older woman comes in asking for some food, and Martin gives her the bread he had for Jesus. Lastly, a lost boy wanders in, and Martin takes the time to bring him home, all while worrying that he would miss Jesus’ visit. That night, Martin asks Jesus, “where were you, I waited for you all day?”
I am sure you have already guessed Jesus’ answer, “I came to you three time today and you welcomed me each time.” I think that the moral of the story may be that Jesus is closer to us more often than we imagine. Emmanuel, God with us, is truly present to us every moment of every day, we just need to be aware of His presence. Christmas celebrates that first time that Jesus came to be among us and with us. Have we used our Advent time wisely to prepare for His coming? Are we able to recognize Him in the child who won’t sit still, or the partner who has forgotten how much we love them? What about the immigrant who has come to be in my neighborhood and is being ignored. How about the single mother who is reaching out for help to survive. Hopefully, we have become more aware of Jesus’ presence in our lives no matter the situation.
From now till New Year’s why not start a journal so that all of 2025 you could complete this sentence at the end of every day: Today I encountered Jesus when…
Again, Buon Natale, Wesolych Swiat or Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia, Maligayang Pasko, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël and Merry Christmas!
Till next week,
Sister Theresita
