Carrying Christmas into Ordinary Time
Christmas 2019 has become a memory. The beautifully wrapped presents have all been opened. Bows and wrappings have been torn and thrown out, or collected to be used again next year. The Christmas ham and turkey, along with the cookies, have been consumed. School has begun and it’s back to work for the rest of us. The glow of the Christmas tree, though still beautiful, has become a bit common place. The merchandise in the stores is now geared for Valentine’s Day. The extraordinary Christmas season has now turned to something ordinary. Even liturgically, the priest now wears green and we find ourselves in “ordinary time.”
But is God’s grace ever ordinary? As I reflected on this Christmas season, I came across a prayer that Caryll Houselander wrote. She was born in 1901 and was a poet, writer and mystic. Her prayer begins, “Be born in us Incarnate love!” I could not help thinking that if we truly gave our hearts to Christ as a Christmas present, he would bestow upon us His grace upon grace. Grace to hear His whispers in the ordinary-ness of our lives. Grace to see his fingerprints in the hum-drum of work or school. Grace to experience the glory of God every day – not just on December 25!
