Mathoms, etc.

It was so quiet and peaceful in the neighborhood when I took Zack for a walk yesterday. Despite my objections to the commercialism and madness surrounding the holidays, it was nice to imagine the children waking up to find their presents under the Christmas tree, opening them up, or already playing with their new toys. Halfway through our stroll, chimes started to ring out from a local church. It started playing Christmas songs, and I sang or hummed along with them.

When I went to mass, the priest reminded us that Advent was about waiting and patience. The week before, he told us that his biggest pet peeve is standing in line to check out his one item, while the person ahead of him has a ton of stuff, paying with a check. During the Christmas Eve mass, a parishioner told him another story about patience. He was waiting at the toll bridge, and the driver ahead of him was taking forever, talking to the toll taker. He wanted to honk the horn but thought of the Monsignor's story from week before, and decided not to so he could set a good example for his young daughter that was in the car with him. The car finally drove away, and when he pulled up to pay, the attendant told him that the first driver already paid for his toll. I loved this story! This year, there were also anonymous Santas paying off layaway bills at stores, especially KMart.

In November, the Church changed the responses and some of the prayers during Mass, so the translations would be closer to the original Latin. The priest also said that in this year's series of Christmas masses, there were changes so the readings highlight that Jesus' birth equates with the arrival of His Kingdom on earth. Everytime we perform small, random acts of kindness, then we are becoming Christ-like and building our own kingdoms. The kingdom of God is within, after all.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!