Hope

Every Christmas Eve, my husband and I stay up too late.

We go to Mass on Christmas Eve with my parents.

We go to their home for Christmas dinner.

We sing, "Happy Birthday, Jesus."

My dad dresses up like Santa Claus and my mother dresses as Mrs. Claus.

The kids know. But, they play along.

We do Santa at our house. Some don't. But the joy of Christmas is that Santa fosters a belief in things that cannot be seen. Life today requires that. Too often, the tangible is put above hope. Santa is never seen, yet we believe that the next morning there will be gifts under the tree because, in the tradition of Saint Nicholas, Santa embodies goodness and generosity.

Beautiful, perfect baby Jesus - pure and innocent - came to earth, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He served others with gentleness and offers eternal salvation. Don't get me wrong, I am not comparing Santa (or even the extraordinary generosity of Saint Nicholas) to Jesus. They both, however, are kind and generous and willing to overlook imperfections - even if we see ourselves as unworthy. As adults we approach Jesus with the same childlike wonder as we did with wrapped gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. Children often can't fully grasp the gift of salvation, but they can believe in and model the act of selfless giving.

It is easy to hope when we are children - everything is seen with wonder and awe. As adults, hope becomes more difficult. But, faith - well-developed and often practiced - keeps hope alive, even when hope seems lost.

This Christmas morning, with awe and reverence, we open a gift of His love and His saving grace. Hope.

One of my kids' favorite things is to see baby Jesus "appear" in the manger. He comes, wrapped in swaddling clothes, on Christmas Eve after Mass.

As we celebrate Jesus' birth and all of the joy that comes with our Savior, we remember that He is ALWAYS present - that this little baby, hardly the vision of a king, humbled himself to be born in a stable. Jesus was a child. And, he had the same childlike wonder we see in our own children. I can't imagine the joy that wonder put on Mary's face.

Peace and joy to you this Christmas Day!