Here are more suggestions for us to reclaim Christmas. What could Christmas be like? More time spent with people, sharing memories of the past year, making plans for the coming one. Doing things together, being more prayerful and more playful, telling stories, talking about God. Reaching beyond ourselves.
One common theme emerge, a plan of action takes shape. One family might make their presents this year. Or give each other things they already own, trade things that are important parts of their lives. This will help them get to know each other better and experience each other as family, helping each other grow by giving to each other.
Or maybe this year the family will make a little retreat to a quiet spot in the woods. They could take the time to relax and regain a sense of family, to get to know each other again, and then return in time to share their strength and peace on Christmas day.
A group of friends might make a special effort this Christmas to reach out to those less fortunate than them. Perhaps a trip to a local nursing home. They’ll put together a Christmas show, using the wealth of talent and creativity they have been blessed with to bring joy into the lives of those without families.
Another family might donate money they would normally spend on each other to a worthwhile charity, one that is helping feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless.
Or they might prepare a huge Christmas banquet and open their doors to those in the community who would otherwise spend Christmas alone.
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...