Keeping Christ in Christmas means more than sending cards with sacred art (instead of snowmen) and sneering "Merry Christmas" when a store clerk says "happy holidays." Doesn't it also mean keeping Christ in the entire season of Christmas? While the Church realizes that the Incarnation is too big a reality to take it all in at once -- reminding us that the 12 days of Christmas are just a beginning -- the secular world wants to deprive us of this truth. After December 25 the lights come down, trees go on the curb, and life goes back to normal. Really? We can choose to remain immersed in the reality of Christmas, at least for the 12 days of the season, bathing in God's Grace. Why not go in the office tomorrow and smile as you say, "Merry Christmas." If you think it's over, you've been duped by the secular world. Christmas is a spiritual reality, so continue to celebrate the wonderful truth of God's great love. God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son... and didn't take the lights down after one day! Don't let secularism deprive you of the fullness of this great season. Keep the lights on.

1/2/12

Msgr. William J. King