How are you feeling about Christmas? Excited? Apprehensive? Joyful? Anxious? For most of our children Christmas just has to be one of the most exciting times of the year. Many of us will never forget the excitement we felt as a child as Christmas approached. Some children search every cupboard in the house looking for possible presents from Mum and Dad. When a present is found in wrapping paper it can be great fun trying to guess what it is. For some children it is difficult to sleep before Christmas. Minds can be over active and imaginations can run riot. Many of you will have your own personal and private memories of Christmas in your family and your own distinctive family traditions. Such happy memories are to be treasured and all who are parents have the tremendous joy of making Christmas a truly happy time for their children.

However too many of us forget that Christmas is also a very painful time for numerous people. For some in our dioceses this will be the first Christmas without a much loved and very treasured member of our family or a close friend. Somehow Christmas time seems to highlight the pain of bereavement and underlines the sense of loss. It is difficult to celebrate and rejoicing feels inappropriate. For those of us who have experienced a Christmas which included the funeral of a loved one and for those who have spent a Christmas in hospital or at a hospital bedside we know something of what this is like. We will never forget that Christmas and ever since we will always have a particular understanding of those who are in similar situations.

For others Christmas time is another excuse for excessive drinking and opting out. There is a vain hope that alcohol will anaesthetize us from personal pain and help us to escape from facing reality. However, no matter how much we consume, issues remain unresolved. In our Dioceses one of the highlights of the past year was the conference in September on “Young People and Alcohol Abuse.” Who will forget the sincerity of D.J. Carey and the example he gives of a healthy fulfilling life and lifestyle? We were impacted by the honesty and freshness of the Governor of Mountjoy Prison’s presentation. John Lonergan is a superb communicator. The present facts of teenage drinking in Ireland today demand from a caring and compassionate society appropriate and sensitive action. They are a challenge to the Church as God’s alternative society. They present a challenge to all of us in 21st Century Ireland.

Some may be thinking that even to mention such thoughts is against the Christmas spirit. Actually it is an expression of it. A Christian Christmas is not a season of self-centered selfishness. It is a celebration of a God who is utterly selfless and constantly has “others” in His heart. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” is one of the most staggering statements, not just in the whole of the Bible, but in the whole of Literature. The Almighty all powerful God came and lived among us. The Christian Gospel really is good news for all. For those who rejoice and for those who mourn, for those whose hearts are bursting with joy this Christmas and for those whose hearts are broken with grief. Whoever we are, wherever we are the Christmas message applies to us. The Good News is that “Emmanuel” God is with us. He is with us in our joy and He is with us in our pain. He knows and He understands.

We pray that this Christmas all of us will know the powerful presence of the living God, the friendship of the Risen Jesus, and the power of His life-giving Spirit. The baby born in Bethlehem in the midst of excitement and apprehension, joy and anxiety really is God with us. Wow!! We worship with wonder and awe. The Christmas Carol has got it right,

“O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!”

God bless you and your family this Christmas!