A good friend of ours from our Incarnate Word Parish in Chesterfield, Steve Givens, wrote the following article which was published in the Post this morning. I loved the message and it home to me for several reasons.

I told Steve I was looking for the right message to post on my web site this Christmas season; a message that could possibly break through the darkness that seems to surround our land with all taking place in our leadership; as well as the darkness that has found the many children that seem to be losing their lives in the gun wars that frequent the streets of our city.

Adam Bitter, our music director and known the city through for his approach to liturgical music, often does this Hank Williams song–I SAW THE LIGHT–as a recessional song and when he does, the lights seem to be brighter in church; the people seem to leave happier; God’s message seems to stick in our hearts a bit longer. It would be my bet that Steve was thinking of this song as he wrote this message.

“I’ve walked in darkness, clouds covered me, I had no idea where the way out could be…then came the sunrise and rolled back the night–Praise the Lord, I saw the light…” Hank Williams

I typically like to steer clear of religion and politics in any messages sent around via my PEOPLE crowd but hey, this is the Christmas season. There is more than religion going on in Steve’s message, this is life itself. This is the very essence of the Christmas season.

Merry Christmas to all and here’s to a happy, peace-filled, prosperous New Year. I think 2020 is going to be a great year for all in our industry. If you think otherwise, post Steve’s message atop your desk somewhere and read twice a month.

Waiting for Christmas with Bright Eyes  

When author Toni Morrison was once asked how she became a great writer, she responded, “I am a great writer because when I was a little girl and walked into a room where my father was sitting, his eyes would light up. That is why I am a great writer.” 

We become healthy and “great” in our lives because people important to us love us so much that we can see it in their eyes. The sparkle in their eyes and the smile on their lips tell us we are loved, we are accepted, we are valued, no matter what the rest of the world says. That’s a great lesson in parenting and, as we of the Christian faith approach the celebration of Christmas, having “bright eyes” is also a wonderful parable of faith. 

Children naturally get excited when December rolls around and their thoughts turn to presents, parties, winter weather and Santa. But even as their excitement level rises, we adults sometimes respond with a corresponding drop in enthusiasm, energy and life. To be honest, our eyes are not always bright when December walks into the room. We’re just too tired. 

We’re tired of the holiday rush. We’re tired of shopping. We’re tired of this year’s adjacent and never-ending cycle of news, politics and finger pointing. Perhaps we’re tired of everyone who doesn’t agree with our neat definition of what Christmas is supposed to mean who or who doesn’t match our own conception of what it means to be a Christian. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way, and Christians who follow the liturgical year know that December is not just a race to Christmas; it’s the season of Advent, a time to wake up, steady ourselves, and remember that Christmas is not just the dark and cold end of the year. Christmas is all about light, and if we’re not bringing light to the world this Christmas, if we’re not lighting up someone’s eyes by our kindness, generosity and willingness to serve and love beyond our comfortable boundaries and belief systems, we’re doing something terribly wrong. 

If we ever want December to become more than a blustery season of gifts and parties for us and our children — if we truly want it to be holy — we need to wake up and then slow down. We need to greet the season with bright and gentle eyes that remind us — and tell our children — that there’s more to it than meets the eye in the reflection of the department store window. 

Our children will only learn to yearn for the true meaning of Christmas and be people of faith when they see us living our Christianity in ways that reflect what Jesus taught his disciples. He taught not division and fear between strangers and enemies but embrace and forgiveness. He taught acceptance and care of “the other,” not judgement or disregard. He taught an authentic way to love and live that is an answer to this timeless question: Do we love God with all of our hearts, minds and souls, and do we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves? 

The baby in the manger at Christmas grew up to be a man who taught others to love in extraordinary and impactful ways. Like Toni Morrison seeing the light in her father’s eyes, our children must see the light in ours when we practice our faith. At Christmas, they must see us kneel in prayer and adoration before the light of the manager (whether physically or metaphorically) and then reflect that light out into the world by the way we see and serve others. A faith that is any less real, any less bright-eyed, any less rigorous in its love, will fail to motivate them to emulate it. Faith, after all, is caught more often than it is taught.  

Steve Givens

Catholic Spiritual Director