Originally published at National Catholic Register
Gifts come and go, but the love of God, family and neighbor make a holy Christmas last forever.
A woman, tired from Christmas shopping and carrying a large number of bags, pushed the button for the elevator. When the door opened it appeared at capacity with other tired, package-laden shoppers, but they squeezed together to make enough room. “Whoever came up with all this ought to be put in jail,” she exclaimed. Others agreed.
And then a voice from the back of the elevator said, “Don’t worry. He already was put in jail and crucified.”
It’s a story that strikes to the heart of what we often forget amid preparations for Christmas. The holiest Christmas on earth was the first one in Bethlehem where Jesus our Savior was born and laid in a manger.
And so, every year, we hear messages about simplifying Christmas, trying to pry it from the materialistic jaws of the culture. My pastor recently noted in a homily that Jesus coming to Earth was the biggest rescue mission in all of history. And as such, knowing that he will come again, should fill us not with fear but with joy. He came once and brought
