I have much to reflect on with my Christmas gifts, especially in how my celebration of the Lord's Nativity played out for this Christmas Season extending from 2019 into 2020 for the Epiphany.
My parents decided to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and dog in Miami for the holiday, while I remained in Chicagoland. As a sort of gift to them, I took them to Midway Airport on December 19, and saw them off for a special time of being with them for their first Nativity Day celebration since the three of them moved there.
In the days afterwards leading up to December 25, I had plenty going on that poised me to be ready for the great feast. Advent was a great time for me to become more aware of what's around me, especially as that awareness helps me prepare my heart to welcome in God's presence.
On the First Sunday of Advent, December 1, as I like to periodically do, I attended Mass at Holy Family Parish, the home parish of my Uncle Bernie, my Confirmation sponsor. Before he began offering the Eucharistic prayer, Father Terry pointed out something about the prayer, and in the spirit of being aware, he told us to pay attention--I think it may have had something to do with the uses of words like "we" and "us". That really helped reinforce the sense of using Advent as an opportunity to become aware.
On December 22, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, my Abuela Velia and I gathered to make tamales, a long-standing family tradition. In the week that followed, I gave tamales as gifts to family and the Dames, the neighbors across the alley.
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| Here are the trays of tamales following the cooking. |
(Please note, all photos in this post are mine unless otherwise specified.)
In an effort to simplify my gift shopping, I decided to do most of it at Trader Joe's. They have a great selection of products I find suitable as gifts, particularly their biscotti. I made sure to tell that to the people who handled my transactions when I checked out.
I was at Church on two different days getting the decorations in place for the Christmas Season.
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| I got this close-up photo of a candle in the wreath hanging above the pews at Ascension Parish, after I helped decorate the wreath and light the candles. |
On Nativity Eve, my Abuela and I went to Mass at St. Cornelius, which is always special for me because that is where I was baptized.
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| Abuela got this photo of me posing by the outdoor Nativity scene at St. Cornelius. Behind the wooden shelter are the windows right by the baptistry inside, where I was baptized. |
The children present were invited to place small candle lights around the Nativity scene. And the musicians went through a good round-up of Christmas carols. One of them simultaneously played the organ with one hand and a trumpet with the other hand. Back at my Abuela's place, as she got dinner ready, we videocalled with the family gathered in Miami.
A few hours later, I walked out in a temperate night to Ascension Parish to attend Night Mass for the first time ever. It was something I was interested in doing at least once at some point in my life, and I felt this was the right time. The choir led us in such great music, which included the half-hour before Mass started at 11 PM. In the dark of the night, Mass was a wonderful opportunity to behold the Light of the World.
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| Night Mass at Ascension |
While serving as Eucharistic minister, I was stationed by the Nativity scene, which is in the photo directly above. As I handed the Body of Christ to each person, I connected the Body of Christ in the host with the Body of Christ in the baby in the manger.
In the morning, I was back at Ascension for 11 AM Mass. I could tell how wonderfully mild it was set to be that day as I walked out of the house to Church--only 20 degrees cooler than Miami as I pointed out to my family there. And there was so much sunshine. The combination of the mild temperatures and the sunshine really elevated my mood to the great level of joy that befits this Holy Day. I sat in the north transept of the Church, opposite the stained glass window with the Nativity scene. At that hour of morning, the immense sunshine flooded the window with light, and it was a glorious sight to behold. And then there was the mystical effect added with the incense creating a cloud that looked and smelled so divine.
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| While this photo above can't fully do it justice, it does capture the flood of sunshine pouring through the Nativity scene in this stained glass window. The photo below certainly shows light filling the interior of Ascension Parish. |
I heard Father Hurlbert's Nativity Day homily twice. One major idea he presented was how objects can connect with us other people or things, just as Christ came to Earth to be God in the Flesh, making visible the invisible reality of God. I see connections in objects to so many things in my life, and so his homily got me thinking about those connections I make. I wear a bolo tie that I bought at the 2018 Winnebago Powwow, during my first visit back to St. Augustine Mission since my 2013 trip there. I also use a bag from Nayarit, which was a gift brought to me by my relatives who live there when they came for a visit to Chicago. I often get asked about the bolo tie and that bag, and those questions give me the opportunity to share those connections.
As I continued pondering this idea from his homily, I thought about a collection of chess pieces I took from my Great Aunt June's house after her passing as mementos to remember her, which are in the photo below. Those were among many items she collected in her many travels, especially numerous trips to Europe. I noticed those chess pieces in her living room, and they stood out because they looked identical to images of chess pieces I saw in my social studies textbook during 6th grade. Those images were likely in a chapter about medieval history. That topic of study came in a year when we studied ancient civilizations, which included the three major religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which led into the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance and Reformation, then to a field trip to Medieval Times. Those topics of study were part of why my middle school years were so significant, as I came to understand more about others, and also myself. I took one of those chess pieces to show Father Hurlbert a week later as I expressed how that major idea in his homily resonated with me.
Back to December 25, shortly after I returned home from 11 AM Mass for the Nativity of the Lord, my Uncle Brian arrived, and the two of us went to my Grandma Dottie's residence in Lombard. It was such a delightfully mild day.
We had a fine meal in the dining room. We then went to her apartment and had videocalls with those family members in Miami and those in Tucson. Then we played a card game called Golf. By the time 18 rounds were over, the sun had set, and then I took Uncle Brian back to his place. We stopped for a few minutes to see the lights display at Lilacia Park.
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| Uncle Briain got this photo of my enjoying the night of Nativity Day in Lilacia Park, mild enough to go without a jacket. |
And I then we took a fine drive into Chicago. Even though there wasn't much to see of Lake Michigan while driving on Lake Shore Drive, the Lake had its own beauty in the dark of night.
After dropping Uncle Brian off, I drove back to Oak Park. I rolled down the windows and soaked in the temperate conditions. As I drove along, something stirred in my soul. I thought about something else Father Hurlbert mentioned in his homily. There's something really special about this time of year, which society at large deems Christmas cheer. As people of faith, we call it Christmas grace. Driving home that Nativity Day night, I came to understand what that grace is all about: I realized that God is the source of all goodness, and there was so much goodness I got to experience over the past 24 hours or so. I got to be with my grandmas and my uncles in Chicagoland, which is what I was really looking forward to as December 25 drew near. I got to experience wonderful weather, and could go outside without a jacket. And I could also delight in the celebration my parents were having in Miami.
As great as Nativity Day is, the mystery of the Incarnation gives us a lot to unpack, and so I'm glad there's a Christmas Season that extends the celebration out several days.
It also gave a fitting chance to exchange gifts with my parents after they returned, which we did on December 29, the Feast of the Holy Family. I gave my parents biscotti. Dad had also gone shopping at Trader Joe's, and he gave me a Snowman treat that I could put in heated milk to turn it into hot chocolate, which is in the photo below.
I had it a couple days later on New Year's Eve as my parents and I played a train game.
My parents also gave me a pillow. I look forward to using it on my next overnight train trip.
A couple weeks before this exchange of gifts, I got a handful of gifts from my RE students. One student gave me a photo greeting card her family had made to distribute. As I looked at the photo of the whole family, I paused to take stock of the reality that I have been the teacher of all three children in the family. Looking at that family photo was a great chance for me to acknowledge the impact I've had by teaching for so long, extending on through whole families, by going from older siblings to younger siblings.
Another student gave me a wonderful handwritten note, thanking me for the effort I put into teaching class, and how much she gets out of class, and her Nativity Day and New Year's wishes. It was so heartfelt and written truly as an expression of herself. I was so touched this student took the time to express her gratitude by writing this note. These gifts, along with the others I received from students and their families, gave me much reason to marvel in the opportunity to embrace the calling to participate in the work of handing on the faith to the youths in my charge.
Indeed, I had experienced so much grace during these joyful days surrounding Nativity Day. I think there's a lot to be said for gifts that keep on giving, that extend their impact, and that help us connect with God. While He's so mysterious and beyond us, He loved us so much that He came to be with us in a tangible way, as the Word Made Flesh, born of Mary. And we have so much reason to celebrate because He continues to be with us, manifesting His glory, which now abides even within us.
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| The Nativity scene at Ascension |
Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth, peace, good will toward men.
Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
20 + C + M + B + 20
The above is an inscription used for the house blessing on the Feast of the Epiphany. The year 2020 flanks both sides. C, M, B represent the traditional names for the Magi, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. The four crosses represent the four seasons.
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