Every year I put off writing my Christmas cards because it
seems like such a formidable task. The more life history I acquire, the longer my
Christmas card list grows; it now includes family, friends from school days and
numerous former workplaces, Shantivanam colleagues, friends from my former
parish community in St. Louis, and several inmates who were once part of the
Bethany group at Lansing Correctional Facility.
When I view Christmas cards with the eyes of Advent,
however, they become more than a task to be checked off a list. Sending
Christmas greetings is one way Christ “leads us to one another,” as we sang at
mass this morning. It provides an opportunity to rejoice in the many companions
who have walked with me throughout my life and to hold in prayer those I need
to cross off my list because they died in the past year. It also provides an
excuse to slow down in these often hectic days of preparation and reflect on the
happenings of the past year as I write notes in my cards. Given the events of 2016—my pilgrimage to Wales, packing up my house, and entering Mount St. Scholastica as a postulant—I have plenty to write about in my cards this year!
As we draw closer to the celebration of Christmas, the Mount
mail cart brims each day with the Good News being sent from Atchison to all the
world. This year I’m grateful to add my cards to the pile.
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