It is the time of the year when Christmas lights are going up everywhere. One of the challenges for homeowners and businesses is untangling lights that had been previously used. Sometimes it is hard to understand how the lights can become so tangled when they were so carefully wound together at the end of the last Christmas season.

As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of what I found a couple of Christmas seasons ago about the origin of the use of Christmas lights. To my pleasant surprise, I found that Christmas lights were often used to symbolize Jesus, who is the Light of the World, and to help us remember the Star of Bethlehem that appeared above Nativity scene the night Jesus was born.

Reflecting on this, we are reminded to follow Jesus’ light.

Yet life’s challenges, busyness, twists and turns can make our ability to see Jesus as the true meaning of Christmas a difficult thing to keep in focus.

It is as if we get tangled up with so much activity that our vision becomes clouded or darkened, and we fail to remember that we are loved by God and called to follow Jesus. We fail to make simple time with our loving Lord to express our thanksgiving for being so loved.

So what is the remedy to help us keep the right approach to Christmas?

I recommend that we each make a commitment to receive the Sacrament of Penance before Christmas. We will receive God’s healing & special graces that help us to never forget Jesus is the reason for the season. He is the only One that can light our path and is our gift of peace.

The noun, rumination, means a deep considered thought about something.

-By Deacon Tom Gryzbek