AMC Spirituality: Be A Christmas Tree

Be A Christmas Tree

BY GINNY SCHAEFFER

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree How lovely are thy branches. —A Traditional Christmas Carol

As the story goes, a young woman is preparing her first Christmas ham for the oven. As she does so, her husband watches in astonishment as she cuts the end off and puts it aside. Quite surprised, he asks his wife, “Why?” Without skipping a beat, she answers that that is what she always saw her mother do.

With her curiosity piqued, she later calls her mother and asks the same question. Her mother’s response, “It wouldn’t fit in my pan otherwise.”

Rituals and traditions are important parts of our lives. Without giving them much thought, we repeat rituals passed down to us through the generations, the purpose of them long forgotten.

Nothing could be truer than how we celebrate Christmas. From what we eat, what we sing and wear, to the greetings that come out of our mouths, we adhere to traditions that have been ingrained in our memories, hearts, and souls.

One of the most bizarre of these, if you take time to step back and ponder it for a moment, is also one of the most pervasive. In some shape, form, or fashion we will bring a tree into our house or up from the basement, string it with lights and fill its branches with ornaments, both old and new.

The oft time frustration of stringing lights and gathering everyone around to decorate it soon gives way to feelings of wonder. The memories of that small child within us, seeing a Christmas tree decked out in all its finery, giving a soft hue to a darkened room still leaves us with a sense of awe and joy.

The star or angel that we use to top the tree reminds us that even in the darkness we have reason to hope. In Christmas services around the world, we will hear the hope-filled words from the Gospel of John, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn 1:5)

The branches of that tree reach out and invite us into both the glory and commonality of Christmas. It is a human story after all, the story of a family. A child is born. Yes, the circumstances are less than ideal. He is born in a stable, and a feeding trough becomes his bed because there was no room at the inn for them. Imagine giving birth in a barn, away from family, in the middle of a cold night in a strange town. Yet, it gets worse.

Warned in a dream that Herod is so threatened by this newborn child that he is seeking him out to kill him, Joseph takes his small family even further away from the only home he and Mary have ever known, into a foreign land. Just a few days old, Jesus and his parents become refugees, seeking safety in another country. With this kind of beginning, and his experience of living under a foreign, oppressive regime, Jesus’ message could easily have become one of retribution and revenge. Instead, he teaches and shows us that we are to love one another, not just those nearest and dearest to us, but the stranger, the misfit, and even our enemies. No small task. No easy message. Yet, this is what we are called to do, “To love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 15:12)

During the upcoming Christmas season, I hope that you will have time to sit quietly in a room lit by the lights on the tree and open your heart to the message of Christmas—that Love came into the world and sparked a light that darkness could never extinguish. Then, when the Christmas season comes to an end, may each one of us be like that tree and stretch our arms out like branches filled with the light of Love.

Merry Christmas to you and all those you love.

During the upcoming Christmas season, I hope that you will have time to sit quietly in a room lit by the lights on the tree and open your heart to the message of Christmas—that Love came into the world and sparked a light that darkness could never extinguish. Then, when the Christmas season comes to an end, may each one of us be like that tree and stretch our arms out like branches filled with the light of Love.

T h e r e i s a S e a s o n

For everything there is a season… a time to hold on, and a time to let go. —Eccl 3:1, 6b

How apropos that the announcements came during the fall of the year—a season of letting go. First came the announcement of my decision to retire as the director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality effective December 31, 2022—“for everything there is a season.”

Then came the announcement of the decision, made some time ago, to close the Angela Merici Center whenever I chose to retire. Not because I am irreplaceable, but because the Ursuline Sisters are also in a season of letting go.

Both decisions came because of changing times and circumstances, and were made slowly, deliberately, in consultation with others and in prayer. Yet, no matter how good the process, there still is loss, disappointment, sadness—grief.

There is also much for which to be grateful. Personally, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Ursuline Sisters for allowing me the privilege of serving as the director of the Angela Merici Center for twenty-one years. Their trust in me to care for and nurture this ministry has been profoundly humbling. They have encouraged and challenged me. They gave me a place to use my gifts and talents. Most of all, they shared themselves with me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I am also grateful to all of you who have participated in the Angela Merici Center in some way over the years, whether by moving chairs, making coffee, bringing food, serving on the advisory board, facilitating or participating in programs. Your presence and generosity of self has enriched the lives of all those touched by the Center.

Of course, I do not know how any of this would have been possible without the vision and desire of Sister Martha Buser, to share both the spirit of St. Angela and the charism of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville with as many as possible. Her enthusiasm and passion for this ministry brought it to life and helped to sustain it over the years.

As the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.”

Goodbye and thank you, Soli Deo Gloria Ginny Schaeffer Director, Angela Merici Center for Spirituality