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Remember the Baby!

For those of us who are Catholic, today was the Fourth Sunday of Advent. I attended Mass today at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. Our presider, Father Ed Hauf, stressed the importance of remembering the Baby this Christmas season.

The baby, of course, is Jesus Christ.

Up to now, I did not feel the Christmas spirit. A lot of that is because what passes for "spirit" in the days before Christmas is really little more than commercialization. Too much emphasis is put on the cost of the presents rather than the spirit behind the present.

While it would be nice if there were a Cannondale System Six or a Trek Madone SSL 6.9 bicycle underneath my mom's Christmas tree tomorrow morning, I will be just as happy with less expensive presents because I know there will be plenty of love behind them.

Another reason I didn't catch the spirit earlier is that people aren't sending nearly as many Christmas cards as they once did, and I think that's a sad thing. I'm sure there's plenty of reasons: the expense of cards and postage, the prevalence of e-mail or a simple lack of time. I've noticed over the past five years or so that I receive fewer cards than I did a decade ago, and I know I'm not the only one. Alas, I simply ran out of time this year and did not send as many cards as I usually do. For those of you who are my friends and didn't get a card, please accept my apologies and I hope to do better next year.

But now, I am in the spirit of Christmas. I look forward to the peaceful drive from Belleville to Brighton tonight, I look forward to Christmas Mass tomorrow morning with my mom at my home parish, St. Alphonsus Church in Brighton, Ill., and I look forward to seeing my family. Later in the week, my older sister and her family will come down from the Chicago area to celebrate Christmas and a bunch of family birthdays that surround Christmas. There will be plenty of love to go along.

It is my hope this Christmas that all of you will remember the love and humility that the Baby is all about. Even if you aren't a believer in Christianity, love and humility are fine traits to share with one another. That's what Christmas is really all about.

Labels: Christmas, family

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