Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

By Friday I'm sure most had already checked out and begun their holiday or at least attempted to get as much last minute shopping in as possible.

This morning the girls and I wrapped our presents and before long we'll be having Christmas Eve dinner.

For as long as I can remember Christmas Eve has meant mass at the Moravian Church in Nazareth, dinner afterward, and then a good, short night's sleep before morning.

I often try to stay up and watch the Pope's mass on television at midnight, but as the kids tend to wake earlier each year, this might be a challenge.

The holiday's undeniably are a time when most are spreading more cheer than normal and we make time to catch up with friends and family. It is a time of reflection on the year that was, which leads to us looking ahead to the New Year.

Especially now with a ten and five year old, I find it increasingly important to remind them that the holidays are a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Last week in driving to Philadelphia, my older daughter and I had a conversation about religion. It went something like this (and lasted over an hour so I'm summarizing and editing as well).

"Is hell for real?"

"If you believe in heaven, then there is a hell. But you don't have to worry about going to hell if you believe in God and try to be a good person."

"How do you go to hell?"

"Do you know why we celebrate Easter?"

"Yes, because Jesus died and went to heaven."

"Where did he go before he went to heaven?"

"I don't know."

"Remember when he died, he was taken off the cross and put in the tomb, then the stone was rolled over the front?"

"Yes."

"Do you know in the Lord's prayer it says he descended into hell and on the third day rose to heaven?"

"Yes, I remember that part."

"Well, Jesus went to hell and freed the souls of the people who believed in God, but couldn't get to heaven because they'd made a mistake. There are stories of a great battle between Jesus and the angels against the minions of hell. Once the battle was ended and Jesus was victorious the gates of heaven were opened to sinners. Jesus died for our sins and gave us a chance to go to heaven as long as we asked for forgiveness and showed our love for Him."

I then spoke to her about what is important in life. I tried to explain to her that the important thing is to learn how Jesus lived his life and the example he set for us and to try to live our own life as best we can like he did. I told her we won't be able to live the life he did, but the more we strive to do so, the closer we will come to God.

I think it is a message well-worth remembering and in my talking to her it reinforced within me the need for continued efforts on my own part to do the same.

At the same time, it has reminded us of all that Jesus has given to us as individuals and a people, and for that the celebration of his birth is joyous indeed.

Merry Christmas and God bless!