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December 19, 2018For the past twenty-five years, I have celebrated Christmas in Georgia. Being a Yankee, I found Christmas in the South to be somewhat different. Dreaming of a white Christmas is a wonderful sentiment in the lyrics of a song, but the reality of a snowy Christmas is not so charming when you have to dig out the family car in order to get to Church. So, it is nice that wintry weather is not so much a problem in the South. But, my first Christmas I almost failed in my pastoral duties miserably and had to scramble in order to find poinsettias to decorate the sanctuaries in Louisville and Waynesboro. Who knew that in a culture that had no sense of keeping Advent, Christmas decorations were scarce to come by soon after Thanksgiving when all the Baptist and Methodist Churches were already decorating for Christmas? And on that first Christmas, as I drove from Waynesboro to Louisville to celebrate Mass, I was flabbergasted that the dozen little Christian Churches that I passed all were closed for the day. What, there are Christians who don’t go to Church on Christmas Eve or Morning? Unbelievable! Even worse, on the way back to Waynesboro shortly after noon on Christmas Day, there was a house that had already put their Christmas Tree on the curb to be hauled away. Really! Really!!! Why even bother?
So, as this Advent Season draws to a close, I rejoice that we will be taking some time to truly celebrate the Mystery of the Incarnation. The blessing of Christmas is Emmanuel, God with us, the gift of Jesus Christ! We worship God at the manger, rejoicing that God loves us so very much that he became one of us. Our hearts are filled with joy, wonder and hope as we reflect once again upon the awesome reality that the Creator of the entire universe became creature for love of us.
The beauty of our Church at Christmas is the end result of good planning and hours of hard labor on the part of a small group of dedicated individuals. I am grateful for their wonderful work. Thank you to Ron Bossick who organized a group of men to put up our Nativity Scenes. This is dangerous in naming names because I am bound to overlook someone so generically I thank the members of the Woman’s Club and the Altar Guild who do such a great job in decorating. These folks, year in and year out, have given countless hours so that the Church looks great during the Advent and Christmas Seasons and throughout the year. Keeping our little Church worthy of God’s presence and our worship is a lot of hard work, and thanks to all who contributed.
I also wish to express my appreciation to all those who have been working towards making our Christmas celebrations truly joyful celebrations. Thank you to Ryan Beke and all the music people: the cantors, the instrumentalists, the vocalists, not only for what you do this week but for the great work that you do throughout the year. We are blessed to have such great music for our worship. Thanks to all in our music ministry for supporting our prayer with such joyful sounds!
Thank you to our weekend Sacristan, Ken Douberly, and the Eucharistic Ministers, the Lectors, the Ushers, and the Mass Servers. Your time and talent invested in ministry always helps to make our celebrations very organized and prayerful. Your cheerful attitude and joyful spirit are part of everyday life at Saint Michael Parish. You make Christmas a yearlong celebration. I am truly amazed at the goodness, generosity and love that are characteristic of the people of this wonderful parish.
I am so very grateful for Mary Chapin’s outstanding work in keeping us all organized. This faith community has been blessed time and again by her hard work that makes this parish run so smoothly. I am often humbled as people thank me for different things because I know things are only accomplished because of Mary’s dedication in conjunction with the Parish Leadership. On a daily basis they join together as a team to go above and beyond the call of duty. I hope during the Christmas season you will offer a prayer of thanksgiving for them and perhaps have an opportunity to thank them personally.
It is my prayer that you and your loved ones will have a joyful and blessed Christmas. Love is our mission and Christmas is all about a deep, deep sense that in the Incarnation of Christ the fullness of love has come to Earth. May you experience Christ’s love as you gather with your friends and family this week.
Fr. Jerry Ragan
