BY ERIC GIRTEN
THE CATHOLIC KITCHEN
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
We find ourselves in the midst of another holiday season. As it is with any year, we can find plenty of things to grab our attention:
- Did we get everyone the right presents?
- When should we order them?
- Who’s doing the cooking?
- Who’s not doing the cooking?
- Who invited Cousin Eddie?
There is a reason why many people find the holidays frustrating, anxiety-driven and depressing. Simply put, it is because society/culture/people/we/I has/have taken the treasure we found in the field (Mt. 13) and continue to find ourselves replacing it with other “treasures” in our lives, which inevitably leave us empty inside.
If and when we take our focus off of the reasons for our celebration (exchange Holy Days for holidays), then we ultimately sell the field of heavenly treasure for shiny, and ultimately quite worthless, baubles. As we all know, there is a large faction in the world who would like nothing more than to get Thanksgiving off of the calendar and take Christ out of Christmas for good. Their motives range from misguided to ignorant to sinister. But we won’t let them ruin our celebrations or quiet our spirit.
So buy the gifts, connect with family, cook a feast and enjoy this season of thankfulness, joy and new birth; for a Savior has been born to us this day (Lk. 2) and remains with us until the end of days.
Start a new tradition in your family this year. Read the Nativity of our Lord before you open presents. Better yet, have the kids read it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas.