THE SIMPLICITY OF LIVING FOR CHRIST

Greetings from Fr. Bob

When third graders were asked to illustrate the text “He will come again in glory” One child drew a picture of Jesus stepping out of a big jet along with a red carpet, photographers, reporters, etc. A second child drew a bullet-proof limo and police. Perhaps, a harsh image of the Prince of Peace. But, in reality, that is how Popes and Presidents travel. A third child put Jesus in a space ship with an explanation that it took Him two thousand years to return because space travel takes so long. Since this is the TV generation, another child had Jesus being interviewed on TV and one had Jesus on the cover of a magazine.

No one put Him on a donkey or descending from a cloud. Most curiously, not one of the young artists drew Jesus in or near a church. Those children did something very important. They put Jesus in the context of our time, in the here and now.

The coming Christmas is not just about Christ in a manger. It is also about Christ in a heart - your heart and mine. St. John the Baptist tells us to prepare the way of the Lord. So, how are you going to prepare spiritually for the birth of Christ? Maybe it is time to go to confession. Maybe it is time to heal a relationship. Maybe it is time to right a wrong.

Or, maybe it is time to simply try to improve our relationship with Christ. God gave us His greatest gift, the gift of His Divine Son. That is one gift we need to open before Christmas. Christ can be present to us in many ways. He is present to us at church. He comes to us in the Eucharist. He also comes to you every day in those around you.

We have all heard this so many times before - that we have to see Christ in others that it becomes just something we hear. We tend to forget that it is one of the corner stones of our faith, without which we can not call ourselves followers of Christ. Christ comes to us every day in those around us. Those we like and those we do not. He comes to us, especially, in those closest to us. We can ask ourselves how do we treat them. Remembering that Christ told us how you treat others is how you treat Him.

St. John the Baptist did not say wait for the Lord. He said prepare His way. That is to do something. As we spend the next few weeks preparing for Christmas, try to make this time different. What changes do I need to make in order that those closest to me will have a happy Christmas? I do not mean material gifts, but is there some healing that needs to take place. Is there something I need to do for myself to make me a whole person.

Christ gave up Heaven and became human for you. He would have done it for you if you were the only person in the world. And, even that was not enough. He died for you. If you are that important to Him, the least you can do is not only live – live for Him.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Bob Warren

GRAYMOOR TODAY CHRISTMAS ISSUE ONLINE

Graymoor Today is a quarterly publication produced by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. Our Christmas 2009 issue is now available online in Adobe PDF format.

FRIARS' PARISH MINISTRIES CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

Friars of the Atonement serve in parish ministries throughout the world.  This year, consider celebrating Christmas with the Friars at one of these parishes: 

St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church, Apex, NC
Christ the Redeemer Roman Catholic Church, Sterling, VA
Chapel of Our Savior, Brockton, Massachusetts
St. Odilia Catholic Church, Los Angeles CA
St. Joan of Arc Parish, Toronto Ontario, Canada
St. Joseph the Worker, Richmond British Columbia, Canada
St. Joseph’s Church, Tsurumi-ku Yokohama, Japan

CLICK ON A PARISH ABOVE TO LEARN MORE

Franciscan Friars of the Atonement

Headquartered at Graymoor in Garrison, NY, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement is a Roman Catholic religious community with social, pastoral and ecumenical ministries in the United States, Canada, England, Italy, and Japan.

Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

In the Franciscan tradition of hospitality, Graymoor Spiritual Life Center welcomes individuals and groups of all faiths for spiritual retreats, meetings, conferences and pilgrimages.

Located on a mountaintop overlooking the Hudson River Valley, facilities include overnight accommodations, large dining room, a library, three chapels, as well as meeting/seminar facilities.

Centro Pro Unione
Christian Unity and
Ecumenical Research

The Centro Pro Unione, founded and directed by the Society of the Atonement, is an ecumenical research and action center. Its purpose is to give space for dialogue, to be a place for study, research and information in ecumenism: theological, pastoral, social and spiritual.

Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute

The Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute promotes Christian unity and interreligious dialogue in North America through their monthly (except August) Journal, Ecumenical Trends, Lecture Series, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity resources.

St. Christopher's Inn
Residential Shelter & Substance Abuse Treatment Center

St. Christopher's Inn is a temporary shelter dedicated to the rehabilitation of men in crisis. Today the Inn shelters over 1,200 men per year, most of whom suffer from alcohol and/or drug addiction.

Our mission is to offer a continuum of quality health care services that facilitate physical, emotional, and spiritual healing by providing chemical dependency treatment, primary health care, and temporary housing.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement find both challenge and purpose in active service. We direct thriving social, ecumenical and pastoral ministries spanning three continents.

Our name — “At-One-Ment” — reflects the passion to reconcile Christians and their churches; to unite men and women with God and one another, making them
“at-one.”

If you are a man 19 to 40 years of age, who feels God’s
calling to live a life of faithfulness to the church, our
Vocations Director, Bro. John O’Hara, SA can be reached at 1-800-338-2620, ext. 2126.