CHRISTMAS: THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD WE WISH YOU A

December 25, 2013

LUCID CHRISTMAS!

This year, I feel like wishing my friends a "#$c%&" Christmas: from the Latin 'lucidus' illuminated, well-lit. It applies well to the Christmas season with its candles and oti e lamps, its colourful light !ul!s, its glowing hearths and shining windows, with families and friends gathering late into the night. It recalls the glory of the angels, o er a dark field near "ethlehem, announcing the !irth of the #ne who would !e called himself the light of the world$. It e okes the star that guided the %agi, who came from afar to an encounter that would fill them with &oy. 'Lucid' is also used to descri!e a person who is conscious, alert and percepti e. 'e cannot cele!rate Christmas lucidly when we lock oursel es up in a romantic fantasy !u!!le, !linded to the reality that surrounds us. ( lucid Christmas does not close its eyes to the desperate po erty of so many people in our world. ( lucid Christmas does not forget a neigh!our's depression and loneliness, a relati e's emotional pain. It does not hide from youth's concerns a!out the future and old age's regrets a!out the past. To cele!rate Christmas with lucidity means reaching out to others, especially the unlo ed and the forgotten. It means opening your heart and wallet to share your small wealth with those who ha e e en less. It means carrying in mind and in prayer the ictims of natural storms )like hurricanes and earth*uakes+ and human storms )like wars and terrorism+ that afflict so many parts of our glo!al illage. It means refusing to get carried away !y the e,tra agance of a consumerism that only sees in this time of year an opportunity to ma, out the cash registers and credit cards. -es, I long for a lucid Christmas: enlightened !y the .ather who said 'Let there !e light/0 !y the 1on, 'the morning star come to isit us/0 and !y the 1pirit, dwelling in us as /tongues of fire/. %ay our own lucidity, purified !y the grace that comes from a!o e, allow our world to shine forth as a reflection of the kingdom of &ustice, peace and &oy the child of the manger came to inaugurate. To you all, I wish a L2CI3 C45I1T%(16$ '()$#*A+&r, D$r-c.er, 7resident of the Canadian Conference of Catholic "ishops Archbishop Durocher had such a beautiful message this year that I thought it worth sharing! On behalf of Fr. Bertoli, our deacons Richard, Dennis and Bernie, our pastoral associates Anna, ennie and Odette, the parish staff, the wardens and pastoral council, and all of us here at !t. "onica#s, we wish to each and e$ery one of you a Blessed %hristmas and a &ew 'ear filled with peace, (oy, and good health. )han* you for the many ways in which you so generously support the mission of our +arish. Following the e,ample of +ope Francis, a true prophet of di$ine mercy and lo$e, may each of us be filled with the (oy of proclaiming %hrist- in our hearts, our families, and our society. .od bless you all! Father Raymond Lafontaine, Pastor