Christmas is a beautiful time of the year for most of us, most of the time. But it is also true that Christmas can be a very painful time of year for some, especially those who have experienced recent loss or who, for various reasons, have fewer family options at Christmas. Yes, Christmas can be the best of times, and the loneliest of times, the most wonderful time of the year, or the most painful.
The video below reminds us that Christmas can also be a time to reach out to others who have a hard time experiencing Christmas. Perhaps it is a relative or friend who has lost a spouse this past year and this will be the first Christmas alone. Perhaps it is some one who is left out because they are military and family are far away. Perhaps it is some one who is shy and even a little anti-social, but somewhere under all their grouchiness we see their pain and know that they need some outreach at Christmas.
Whatever the situation, there are always those who need to be included, who for various reasons feel excluded.
In the video, a hare, i.e. a rabbit, is friends with a bear who always misses Christmas because of hibernation. But something in the hare says that Christmas will not be Christmas without his friend, and without his friend being able to experience the joy of Christmas. It occurs to the hare that a particular gift will help the bear enjoy Christmas, if even for a moment. And so, he gives the gift, which you will see at the end of the video.
I leave it to you to see the touching conclusion and to ask who the bear is in your life that you need to reach out to in this season of Christmas. For me it was an old family friend that I had lost touch with this year, and whose mind is beginning to fade with age. But she had been good to my father in his dying process, and so I sought her out and had a nice talk.
How about you? Who is that someone that needs some special outreach this Christmas. Christ will surely be pleased if you give the gift of love.
Here are some of the lyrics of the Lily Allen Song:
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
I’m getting tired and I need someone to rely on
I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I’ve been dreaming of?
Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
I’m getting old and I need something to rely on
An elderly, childless, former colleague of mine now lives in an assisted living facility. I love him dearly and my children know him as “Grandpa.” We visit him at least 3 times per week! 🙂
As a convert, I fail to understand Catholics complaining about holidays spent with unbelieving and fallen-away family members – year after year after year. Why not fill those seats at the table with someone who lives alone and would appreciate your hospitality? There is scripture teaching about who we should invite to dinner. Believing “marriage is until death do us part,” I have not remarried and with one exception, been alone on those holidays – SINCE BECOMING CATHOLIC. As a protestant, I never spent a holiday alone. It seems to me, Catholics are living THEIR faith, not the faith of our Lord. O how I long for the love of our protestant brothers and sisters.
I am sorry you are alone. However I am not sure it is fair to generalize about Catholics in the way you have, or of Protestants for that matter. The matters you describe are human problems that we all have to one degree or another.
I am not African American, however my So Baptist protestant experience was the same warmth and love you experience with your African American Community. I listen to your homilies and frequently say “amen.” Here is an example of the Catholic Community I experience: a young man wore a baseball cap to mass one Sunday, during which three individuals told him it was not appropriate. I cannot quote him verbatim, however his comment went something like this: those are the first words anyone has spoken to me in four years. And we wonder why people are leaving. I appreciate your comments.
Dear Kidonhayca,
I am so sorry for your loneliness! I wish that I could welcome you to my table and share a meal with you. There are Catholics who have open hearts and homes, we also often have large families and noisy children and love to bring new and interesting people home to help them learn to love. I hope you find that family or mine in the next year.