Let us continue to celebrate the Christmas season

By Pat Arensberg

Merry Christmas!  Yes, it is still Christmas.  Leave those decorations up and keep turning on the lights that are in the yard or on the tree!  The Incarnation and birth of Jesus are something very monumental.  We should ponder it and celebrate it for more than just a day.  In fact, Christmas season continues through the second Sunday of January when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  There are those who celebrate longer and those who celebrate for fewer days.  In any case, Christmas should be weeks long, not days long.
Within the Christmas season we celebrate some important days.  On December 27 we celebrate The Feast of the Holy Family.  It is a great time for us to contemplate the virtues that Mary, Joseph and Jesus.  Ask for the intercession of Joseph and Mary on our behalf.  I need to be more like St. Joseph.  
On the 28th we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents.  These were the innocent little children that Harrod ordered killed as he sought to kill the new-born king.  It is a reminder to us that we should never destroy human life.  Human life is sacred because we are made in the image and likeness of God.  Sometimes we don’t see that in our neighbors, but this day is a day to try to refocus our gaze. Today is also a good day to consider our culture’s willingness to kill pre-born babies, and pray for an end to abortion.  
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day give us the opportunity to look back over the last year.  Have we grown in virtue?  Have we mended wounded relationships?  Are these things in our lives that we need to focus on in the coming year.  
Have we lost a loved one in the last year?  I am sorry for your loss; let us lift our faithfully departed up to the Lord, and let’s not forget to lift our those who grieve their loss.
Let us pray God’s blessing for all of our loved ones as the new year begins.  May 2024 bring us closer to the Lord.  May we grow in virtue and may we bring people closer to Christ by our imitation of Him.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life.  Email him at [email protected]