KEEPING CHRISTMAS ALIVE WITHIN US EACH DAY!

Christmas is just 7 days away. I find it a little hard to believe that 2016 is coming to an end in a fortnight's time. How have I lived my life in 2016? What should Christmas signify to me in my life? Christmas has always been special for me since childhood. It always seemed a season of joy and goodwill amongst all people - not just Christians. It seems every Christmas season, people are more caring and giving towards those in need. So Christmas is often seen as a season of giving.

Yet - what is Christmas to a Christian? It is about Christ coming to earth to save us so that we may have Eternal Life in Heaven - God's greatest gift of His Only Son to mankind. It is "Emmanuel - God is with Us" (Matthew 1:23) who we also proclaim as Christ our Light coming into our hearts. So I got to thinking about it this past week: Why do many of us often seem to allow the Light of Christ in us to shine forth brightly to others only during the Season of Christmas? If we are truly living as a real Christian should, then every day is Christmas to us because Christmas is essentially celebrating the day baby Jesus comes into our hearts.

Finally Christmas 2015 together - the Alexanders!

My Mum, Isabelle, and her youngest namesake granddaughter, Isabella from USA

I love Christmas - I know I have always felt differently in my heart this joyful season. There is an extra special dose of love, joy, goodwill, peace and definitely experiencing the Grace  of God in my life through all my loved ones. Last year, after the Christmas Eve Vigil Mass and celebrations here in India, I flew to Penang, Malaysia to also be with my mother and siblings for Christmas dinner. Well, the second part of my flight got delayed but I arrived just in time for dinner and what I had insisted they keep for me from the Christmas lunch too!   The deep feelings I felt being with my Mum, brothers, sisters, sister-in-law, nephew and niece was so profoundly special that I will never forget the incredible joy I still hold deeply in my heart. I cannot remember when so many of us were able to be together for Christmas. The last Christmas I can remember when my entire family was together was when I was 10 years old. Christmas is always about FAMILY - after all, on Christmas night, Mother Mary, St. Joseph and Baby Jesus exemplified how every Christian family should be - holy, joyous and full of love for family and all mankind. 

Christmas is first and foremost about LOVE. It is a time when each of us have to reflect how are we towards our loved ones as a father, a mother, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister and so forth. Are we so caught up in our careers, in our social activities, our ministries. or in social media that we do not really give of ourselves in terms of sharing and caring for our family or loved ones on a daily basis? Love is about committing our time and truly being present in our relationships with our loved ones. It is not easy these days because if I look at my own family, none of us live in the same city or same country! Yet, in the past few years, my siblings and I have grown closer than we had been since our student days.  We keep in touch daily through a family chat group and so I for one feel the love we have for each other in a more tangible way. We do our best to have an annual family get-together with my Mum. It is also easier to keep in touch with friends too through Facebook, whatsapp and other social media platforms. More importantly, now at any time, as friends and family of Christ, we can pray and intercede for each other's petitions and prayer requests essentially uniting our prayers in an international prayer network . But even to keep in contact, we must be consciously aware that nothing takes the place of personal touch or personal time. A phone call or a visit can truly uplift your loved ones especially your grandparents, elderly parents and family members. 

Except for last Christmas, I had spent the 12 previous Christmas here in Divine Retreat Centre. It was the time I missed my family and friends the most - for I always loved Christmas before because of the the joy of being firstly with my parents and loved ones. The world is moving at such a fast pace.  It is easy to forget or tell ourselves we will spend time the following week but we do not get around to visiting our loved ones or people we know who are elderly, housebound, a strugglig widow/widower, a single parent, children from broken families, the poor, or the sick. If we truly took a good look around us, God has placed so many people around us to whom we could and should share Christ's Love with. This Christmas, I pray that the Love of Christ in me will sensitize me to be more conscious of every person in need who I meet. Even a rich person with no faith in God and hence no hope or meaning in life can be "poorer" and in greater need to know Jesus than a person who is poor materially but filled with love and trust in Him. Yes, it will take time and effort and it can seem thankless because our efforts could be rejected. Yet, Jesus teaches us one thing through His Life until His Resurrection. Jesus never gave up on any of us. That is true example of "Agape" Love - selfless, sacrificial and unconditional love. 

How joyous my life would be if Christ's Love radiates in a tangible manner every day of the year to all my loved ones, my Divine Family members, my ministry friends in different countries as we serve God together and to all those in need esp our Divine family members in our Divine Charitable Homes. It is through them I am always reminded how blessed my life is. I do not ever want to have an indifferent or forgetful heart for sisters and brothers of mine who are marginalized in the world and have found love, peace and dignity in their lives through the love and care by the Vincentian Fathers of Divine Retreat Centre.   If I can take action or say some words that will bring joy and comfort to them, I pray for the courage and commitment to do so.  I pray for the Grace of God to be His Hands and His Feet. Most of all, to be able to say a little prayer for those Jesus brings into my life each day. This is my Christmas gift to Jesus this year - to consciously say a little prayer each day for every person I come in contact with. It could be just one line. "Fill ______'s heart with your Holy Spirit, Lord."

Christmas is about Hope - without Jesus in our lives,  we will easily fall into despair. How can we always have the Hope of Christ in us? I believe it is when we give God the central place in our life. There can be no higher form of worship than to receive the Holy Eucharist every day. To do so, we have to also partake in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (preferably at least once a month and not just once a year. I for one, cannot remember my sins committed over a year!). Thus, our lives will be grace-filled. Hence, together with our daily personal prayer time, even in our most difficult days, we will find our Strength and Hope in Jesus.

Joy to the World the Lord has Come! Jesus our Saviour is our True Joy - the blessed  Gift of Christmas! Do you every wonder how after New Year, our lives go back to the normal grind of our daily living? Of course, it is not possible, to be full of joy, love and goodwill like we usually experience during the Christmas season. However, do you know of persons who personifies Christ' Joy to you? I know of a few priests who radiate Christ' Joy all the time. People feel touched and blessed even having just a few minutes with them. Seeing the joy in their faces and the profound impact the joy they felt in the presence of the priest makes a huge difference for they often share they truly experienced the Love of Christ.  After serving in ministry over 12 years here, I realize that the Inner Joy of Christ can only radiate from us when our faith is  built on firm foundation - that our lives are firmly rooted on the Word of God. True Joy cannot be alive in our hearts any other way. This Christmas I also pray for all my loved ones, friends and for myself that we will seek for this Joy not just in the season of Christmas but for all our lives.   If people can see the Joy of Christ in us, they will want to know our God who can give us this amazing grace! 

The Angel's message on the first Christmas night when Baby Jesus was born was to the shepherds - "Do not  be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people.For today in the city of David a saviour has been born for you who is the Messiah and Lord." (Luke 2:10-11) This is the everlasting Christmas message every human being should strive for. Jesus did not come to earth to save just the Christians - He came to save every single human being.  What can each of us do to spread the Peace of Jesus' to everyone around us? Well, first, I have to find the Peace of Christ within me - for with Christ's Peace, I can do all things in His Name! I will have no fear. The Word of God gives each of us this beautiful Promise - "Perfect love has no fear." (1 John 3:18) Jesus is the Perfect Love.When we have the ultimate Grace of Christmas - Jesus in our hearts every moment of of our lives - the world will finally attain the Peace that Jesus our Saviour came to give us on earth. 

I hope the touching Christmas YouTube music video below - "LET THIS CHRISTMAS BE (CHRIST IN ME) by Toby Baxley warms your heart as  it did mine.

Wishing my family and loved ones, my Divine family, Friends of Divine, 

ex-colleagues, childhood pals, and all who have touched and enriched my life ...

A JOYOUS, GRACE-FILLED CHRISTMAS FILLED WITH LOVE, HOPE & PEACE!

May our world be filled with peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind!