Originally published at National Catholic Register
Christmas is a tough time to preach. The annual challenge for clerics is to present a story listeners think they know everything about — the Son of God being born in a manger to a Virgin far from home — and offer something new, memorable and helpful.
The Register asked several priests and bishops for their approach at Christmas Masses.
Col. James Hamel, a Catholic priest who is a U.S. Air Force chaplain, plans to preach at Christmas Mass at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, where he is stationed.
Like the narrator in the classic 1943 seasonal song I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Father Hamel notes, he and most of the other members of the military on the base will be far from home at Christmastime this year.
“But in a way, we are home. This is our home for now. ‘Whoever does the will of my Father is brother and sister and mother to me,’” Father Hamel said, quoting Matthew 12:50. “We are Christ’s family this Christmas and brothers and sisters to each other. Our houses are our mangers, and this chapel is our spiritual home.”
“Let us make Christ present in the world wherever we are,” he
