An elderly man in Oklahoma calls his son in New York and says: "I hate to ruin your day son, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are getting a divorce. We've survived 45 years of marriage….and that much misery is enough." The son was shocked. "Dad, what are you talking about?", he yells. The old father explained, "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer."
"We're sick of each other and I'm sick of talking about this. You can call your sister in Hong Kong and tell her." Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck, they're getting divorced!", she shouts. "I'll take care of this."
The daughter calls her elderly father immediately and screams at him. "You are not getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing. You hear me?", she yelled, as she hung up the phone.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay", he says, “It's all set. They're both coming for Christmas and paying their own airfare."
As filled with light and joy as this season of Christmas is, the Church calendar jolts us into reality right after the Silent Night, the Holy Night of Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. It shocks us with reminders of the blood shed for Christ. First on December 26th, the Feast of Deacon Stephen, the first recorded martyrdom in the Acts of the Apostles. This year Stephen it is crowded out by the Feast of the Holy Family on Sunday but we do well to remember angelic beauty of his face that could not be erased by the murderous attacks of those who loved darkness more than light.
And then on the 28th of December, today, we recall the mass murder of Infants and toddlers in Bethlehem, perpetrated by the Wicked King Herod.
And tomorrow, we remember Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in the cathedral, in an act of sacrilege that scandalized all of Christendom.
These feasts and memorials of martyrdom and blood, in this Holy Week of Christmas, remind us of the terrible toll of children murdered in schools around this country, from Newtown, CT to Littleton, CO. of innocent children starving in Afghanistan and South Sudan.
Despite these sad memorials, the message of Jesus Christ is still this: God is light and in Him there is no darkness.
Let us resolve in this coming year to do all we can to protect the precious gift of innocent life, in the womb, in the cradle, in the school, in the home. Let us work tirelessly for this in every way possible and entrust all our efforts to the God the Father, His Divine Son Jesus, and his Blessed Mother Mary.
As we pray for the safety and health of all children, it is so important to remember two things: prayer never knows defeat, and the light of Christ overcomes the darkness of sin and death ALWAYS!
Amen.
Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
