Going Home Another Way
Week 4 – Home Another Way
Three Magi on the Way to Bethlehem, by Hans Thoma
Bringing Christmas into the New Year
“The Christmas season, if we see it as a whole rather than as an isolated event (and, in our age, a totally distorted and even misleading conception of the feast) can ignite the spark that will lead us through the darkness of our own lives every day of the year. It is the light of Christmas within us that will take us, if we have the insight to cling to it, beyond a fairy-tale rendering of the great truths of the faith to an understanding of what all the dark days of life are about.”1
Before you mentally put Christmas behind you, would you like to “go home another way” into this new year? The Church gives us a wonderful example of one way to do this – this year, the Christmas Season lasts till January 8th. So, rather than shifting your focus to New Year’s Eve and resolutions for the New Year, consider staying mindful of the remaining part of the Christmas season.
For Reflection
I’m starting to think that the days after Christmas day could be the best part of Christmas! There are no expectations, no pressures, no big celebrations to plan. Instead, this could be your time to focus on whatever would be most meaningful for you, particularly those things you’ve put off or put aside in the rush of Christmas preparations. And if you regret something you didn’t follow through on for Advent, consider doing it now, during the remaining Christmas season.
Footnotes
- Joan Chittister, The Liturgical Year, 88. ↩︎
Falling Up After 50 