X'mas Message

So, yesterday, the Christmas Day, I finally managed to go to church to attend the Christmas Mass, the last Christmas Mass schedule before the day ended, the 5 pm mass; alone. The church was not crowded at all, which is really good as one of many reasons that makes me lazy to go to mass especially at Christmas is the crowd and the heat from the crowd. But yesterday was really nice, the weather is cool as it is raining season, there was drizzle ouside the church, the seats inside the church is still quite spacious even after everyone got his/her seat, there was no need for an extension of seats in the parking lot, which I bet the previous mass would need. Somehow, I noticed that many of the people who attend this mass were a small group of 1-3 people, maybe a daughter with her mom or grandmother, small groups of friends, teenagers with their mom, a grandmother - not many that are a complete family (mom, dad, children, etc), which was usually the case in the night before christmas mass or the morning or the children mass. Honestly, this situation helped me to concentrate on the mass instead of comparing my life with those people who attend mass with their families, laughing, celebrating, being all happy & cheerful. Not that if I had what they had I'll be all cheerful & happy - naturally, I'm just not that kind of person & I don't want to be one, but I'm a just a human afterall, and sometimes, I do comparing my life with others.

Back to the mass...
So, i followed all the routine things went on in the mass - the singing, the reading of the scripture, the homily, reciting the Nicene Creed (my favorite part), the communion, the prayer. It felt really good, I felt really peaceful, probably because I missed it so much, the mass, the church, God, and I'm glad I came alone.

This is probably the second time I went to church this year, the other one was on Easter day, so, I'm probably the last one on earth you should listen to when it comes to religious topic, but I'm just delivering the message I got from the pastor. Anyway, one thing that stick on my head after the homily is that the pastor read 'A Letter from Jesus', and in that letter Jesus felt sad because on this special day, people celebrate the birth of Him by having party and what not, but most often, those people didn't even invite Him to that party. I realized that's true, for me at least. I know...i know that the letter was not really from Jesus, it was written by a pastor to his followers, regardless, the message is true. Christmas is not about whether we are in the mood to celebrate the day or not, it's not about our happiness or missery, success or failure, family or no family. It's not about us, it's about the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ and He will be the spotlight, if not on every day of our lives, at least on His birthday.

So, to all of you and for myself, i hope this poem will remind us what Christmas is all about.


The Real Meaning of Christmasby Joseph P. Martino Copyright© 2003

Two thousand years ago the King of Kings was born.
'The Lamb of God' later made to feel the thorn,
If his words are accepted and not scorned,
They will make us all reborn.

Though God's grace, Joseph and Mary presented
A gift to the world that day,
which we can all repay,
by living the ten commandments each and every day.

Try to remember and keep in your heart and mind
Jesus's gospel while here on Earth,
Redemption not a life lived in constant mirth.
Peace on Earth, good will toward man
Everyone should try it, whenever they can.

The Lord gave us the option and choice of 'free will',
Now it's up to us to fit the bill.

So when you’re Christmas shopping for family and friends,
and money is tight at both ends,
Remember that the greatest gift of all,
Is your love of Jesus in the manger stall.