Our minds have been occupied a lot lately, with shopping. It’s that time of the year again, when everybody becomes a shopper, even those of us who don’t shop very often. And it’s evident too, isn’t it? Real shoppers know what they’re doing. They know what they want. They know where to find it. They know how much they want to pay. One-time a year shoppers are clueless. They just wander around the mall or the store like zombies. How do you think it is going to take Hollywood to make a zombie movie about Christmas shoppers? They could call it “Christmas of the Dead” or something like that. I am absolutely convinced that there are some people who ONLY leave their homes once a year, to go out Christmas shopping. It was pretty scary out there.

Everybody goes shopping because the way that we celebrate this great feast of Christmas is by giving gifts to our loved one. We don’t want to forget the Reason for the Season. Giving is a natural way to celebrate Jesus’ birth, because in His lifetime, Jesus was always giving. He gave, and gave, and gave, right up to that last breath on the cross. He even kept giving after He rose from the dead. That kind of great love, that kind of generosity, that we have received from God, inspires all of us to give, to be more generous, to get out there and care for others. All of the craziness of these last couple of weeks, we were supposed to be doing, to imitate God’s great love and generosity. Now, we can debate and argue over how many people actually had that in mind while they were buying their Chia pets, of Scooby Doo’s head, but that’s the way it is supposed to be.

My fear is that a lot of us have lost the whole point of what’s going on here. Oh yeah, the gifts are all bought. Most of them are wrapped. The decorations are up. The food is bought and ready to cook, or already prepared. But are WE ready to welcome God into our lives and into our world? Are we ready to respond to His gift, His love? Are we ready to tell the Good News to others, like the shepherds and the angels did two thousand years ago? Today is about only ONE gift. And it didn’t come from Lowe’s, or Target, or Neiman Marcus. It’s Jesus. It’s God. It’s the Messiah. It’s our Savior!

And God has something much bigger planned for His Gift than we do with any of our. God’s gift is forever. It’s not a one-time gift. You know, we buy our gifts, and wrap them up, and deliver them. And then they are opened and hopefully admired. But it’s all over so quick! You know that feeling don’t you?

We feel that sinking way every Christmas, where we have a great meal, we open our presents, and when all the presents are open, it’s DONE! The secular version of Christmas is over. All that’s left is cleaning up the mess and putting the decorations away for another year. My brothers and sisters, God did not come up with this marvelous plan for the Incarnation, so that it could ever be over and done. Christianity is NOT a one-time a year thing. It’s a way of life. Jesus wants to be just as real and every bit as much a gift to us tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, as He wants to be a gift for us today. Do not miss this opportunity that God is giving us in His Son, Jesus. HE IS THE GIFT. He is what Christmas is all about.

On Friday, I was sitting in front of two girls who were probably in their early twenties, and they were talking about this weekend and Christmas. And the one girl said in a kinda depressed sigh, “Well I already know I’m not going to have a very good Christmas this year. I already got both of the things that I really wanted. And everything else is just boring stuff that I’m going to have to take back.” That’s a real, direct quote. Now somewhere in South Bend there’s a girl who has no idea that she’s made my homily. And honestly, I’ve got to tell you, my first impulse was to turn around and tell this twenty-something year-old, selfish, spoiled child that she was going to get exactly the kind of Christmas that she deserved. But then the grace of compassion kicked in, Plus, I remembered that I was eavesdropping. But you know what? We’ve got to pray for that girl. We need to pray for everybody who thinks like her. We need to pray for everybody who thinks that having a good Christmas is all about the gifts, or the money, or the food, or the decorations. Today is not the day to be selfish or spoiled. Today is a day to be generous. Why? Because God was generous to us in sending us His Son.

Let the Good News go out! There are so many who are spiritually starving to death today, like that girl from South Bend. Today, may we be the messengers of that Good News. Let us preach what God has done for us, not one-time, but every day of our lives. May the Spirit of Christmas reign in our hearts always!

On behalf of Fr. Dale, and Deacon Steve, and myself, and from all of us here at St. Maria Goretti, may you have a blessed and Merry Christmas today. May Jesus, Who’s birth we celebrate today, and His great love, change you forever!

God bless us all on this great Feast of Christmas, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!