Christmas is just a day away, which means you’ve been busy lately.
Really busy.
Shopping. Decorating. Shopping. Putting up the tree. Shopping. Signing and mailing cards. Shopping. Baking cookies. Oh that’s right, Aunt Mabel’s going to be at Mom’s for dinner. Shopping.
So now you can look forward to Christmas – the beauty of Christmas Mass, the smiles on the kids’ faces, the warm embrace of family. And the peace…ah, the peace.
But maybe, if we find a small moment amid all the wonder and joy, we can do one more thing.
We can remember.
We can remember that we have all of this – this peace, this happiness, this day – because we are free. Free to go to Mass to praise and thank God for becoming one of us. Free to wish “Merry Christmas” to our friends and neighbors. Free to earn our daily bread, and maybe a little more so there can be presents under that tree.
So maybe we can find a brief moment on Christmas to think about some guys that maybe we don’t think about much on Christmas. Guys whose names and faces we never knew, and never will. Guys who were sons and husbands and brothers. Guys with families.
Guys who were hoping to make it home for Christmas, but didn’t.
And because they didn’t, we can have our Christmas.
Thanks guys.
Sleep in heavenly peace.