Sharing a story this Christmas season

By Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi

One of the enjoyable things about Christmas is that it is a time of year to tell special stories. In keeping with this, I would like to share a story with you. This story is supposedly true. 
The story is this: Among native American tribes centuries ago, before a young boy could be accepted as a warrior in the tribe, there were a number of tests the young boy would first have to pass. These were tests of hunting, tracking, skill with bow and arrow, etc. After all these tests, there was one final test. The boy would be required to prove his courage by spending the night in the forest, alone, and unarmed.
We can only imagine the emotions which the boy experienced as dusk fell the day of this final test and the elders of the tribe escorted the unarmed boy deep into the woods to the place where he would be required to spend the night alone.
In the darkness of the forest the boy, sitting there by himself, must have been frightened. It was the first time for him to be alone outside the safety of the wigwam. The minutes must have seemed like hours, the hours like an eternity. Every sound he heard must have made him wonder if it was an enemy from another tribe come to do him harm, or a wild animal about to attack him.
Finally, the first rays of dawn broke through the darkness of the forest. The boy could begin to see the trees and the path which led back to his village. But then he saw one other thing. Sitting nearby was his father. His father had been sitting there all night, fully armed, to make certain that no harm came to his son.
The boy must have felt so foolish. He must have thought: “I should have known that my father would never have left me out here by myself. He would never allow me to face this danger alone.” The boy then realized that, although he could not see his father, he had never been alone for a moment.
Good people, there are times when we are in darkness. The darkness in our lives is real. There is the darkness of fearful world events, of our sins, of our grasping selfishness, of broken promises (our own and others), of unfulfilled dreams, disappointments, illnesses, losses, sorrow, giving up on ourselves, and failed relationships.
In those moments we can feel very alone. Often I hear people say, as they endure darkness in their lives: “I am all alone.” We are never alone. God is always with us. That is the message of the manger in Bethlehem.
Christmas is far more than a celebration of an historic event. If God took flesh merely to walk among us for 33 years, it certainly seems that was a lot of trouble for a very small period of time. But the message of Christmas is that God has come to us for all time. The prophet Isaiah called the Messiah, Emmanuel, which means God is with us. Jesus has assured us that He is with us until the end of the world. As St. John writes at the beginning of his Gospel, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.
May the true Light of the world, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, shine in your heart and your life in the midst of any darkness. God will never abandon us. He is with us. With God we can handle anything. With God we have nothing to fear.
God is with us, with me and with you. He is with us in all things, and at all times, no matter how dark the challenges of life may be. Instead of becoming fearful and anxious like the boy in our story, we should rest assured that, although we do not see God, God is with us. We are never alone for a moment. God has broken into our world. Emmanuel is with us and has promised to be with us in all things until the end of the world. 
I pray that God will bless you and your loved ones and that each of you will have a grace filled Christmas Season and a blessed New Year.