Thoughts of Christmas and Mary’s Dream

Posted on December 7, 2007
Filed Under Celebration, Faith and Spirituality, Thoughts | Viewed 631 times

It is barely 3 weeks away from Christmas. Christmas has always been associated with the parol (Christmas lantern), the tree, the gift-giving, the carols—we can’t help it, as these are traditional, even physical and material. As the days come nearer and nearer to the much awaited day, as traffic worsens by the day, as we begin to feel the cool December breeze caress our faces and chill our bones, and as we begin to firm up our plans, let us pause for a while for the other meaning of Christmas—the Christmas that we feel in our hearts. Let us be messengers of love not only to our families and friends but to our less privileged brothers and sisters. Christmas is a reawakening, it is sharing, it is glorifying the good Lord, and thanking Him. And yes, let it be a Christmas that is celebrated not only on 25 December, but everyday.

Here’s sharing with you something I got from the email, author: unknown. It is called, Mary’s Dream.

I had a dream, Joseph.
I don’t understand it, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our son.
The people in my dream had been preparing for about six weeks.
They had decorated the house and bought new clothes.
They’d gone shopping many times and bought many elaborate gifts.
It was peculiar, though, because the presents weren’t for our son.
They wrapped them in beautiful paper and stacked them under a tree.
Yes, a tree, Joseph, right inside their homes! They’d decorated the tree with sparkling ornaments.
There was a figure like an angel on the top of the tree.
Everyone was laughing and happy.
They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph, not to our son.
I don’t think they even knew Him.
They never mentioned His name.
I had the strangest feeling that, if our Jesus had gone to this celebration He would have been intruding.
How sad for someone not to be wanted at His own birthday party!
I’m glad it was only a dream. How terrible Joseph, if it had been real!’

And a reminder, tomorrow 8 December is Immaculate Conception, a holiday of obligation for us Catholics. There are 2 others, 1 January—the Solemnity of Mary and 25 December—the Nativity of Our Lord or Christmas. As such, we “the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass and abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.”

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Comments

3 Responses to “Thoughts of Christmas and Mary’s Dream”

comment on December 8th, 2007 3:30 am

It’s actually “holy day of obligation”, not holiday of obligation. Common mistake though. =)

Sexy Mom: Thanks. It’s good to learn from one another.

You know, before I wrote “holiday” I checked with Wikipedia first, and the Vatican website on the spelling. Wikipedia calls it “Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation”.

Here’s an excerpt from Vatican II’s The Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy:

52. By means of the homily the mysteries of the faith and the guiding principles of the Christian life are expounded from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year. The homily, therefore, is to be highly esteemed as part of the liturgy itself. In fact at those Masses which are celebrated on Sundays and holidays of obligation, with the people assisting, it should not be omitted except for a serious reason.
Gina on December 8th, 2007 11:37 pm

How sad indeed that the the celebrant is not even invited/welcomed to the party…
It does seem like people forget the true meaning of the season. In fact, in the past year, it was a big bone of contention here in Canada- people want to be politically correct and it is not right to say “merry Christmas” anymore lest we offend non-Christians. The accepted phrase: Happy Holidays!
In our home,we always have the “Belen”...It is Jesus’ birthday and it is but right to give Him pride of place.
Kyels on December 9th, 2007 12:20 am

I love what you’ve shared with us in this post Tita; Mary’s Dream.

God Bless!