His Story

(Nativity Scene, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Parish Church, Bulwell, Nottingham, UK)

At the start of this month, while going over some paperwork, I heard some of my colleagues talking about not being in the Christmas season yet. Their reason was being preoccupied with a lot of things at work that there is no way just as yet to think of Christmas. I shared in that experience. But as the weeks passed by, and with the college being closed for the holidays soon, people seemed to slow down. Then our team had a Christmas dinner. Before we knew it, we were all wishing each other a Happy Christmas and parted ways.

With the holiday gone full swing, there was more time to be in bed, to relax, to pray, to catch up,  and more importantly, to be with family. While getting ready for our shopping a few days ago, I heard my wife and daughter talking about our family, its many members, their whereabouts, etc. They were sharing a laugh too as Nidz recounts stories to Chiara. 

This season is indeed a time to reunite and I guess families all over the world would have done (or would be doing) a lot of catching up and retell stories of yesteryear. Thanks to technology, stories are quite easily shared.  

Some of these stories would make us laugh: how naughty we were in our childhood, how this relative of ours give life to the party, what blooper this family member has done, etc.  

Some stories would make our faces blush in embarrassment: how we were caught red-handed, how we were punished for our misbehaviour, or how we made a mess in a family reunion.

Still, some stories would make us cry: sickness, death, separation, cold treatment, misunderstanding, etc.

At times, we wonder where our stories would lead us. Would it have a good ending? Would it be worth telling at all?

Fr Vincent Nagle, FSCB, once wrote that Christmas "allows us to live a story worth telling already." "My story, worth telling?", you ask. Fr Nagle continues, "The Incarnate Son of the Father makes our lives beautiful right now because he is the good ending to each one of our stories, no matter how strange and troubled. This gives us the courage to love and live right now, because right here we can already meet and know the good ending to the story of our lives."

With God becoming human, with God being with us, with God making a home in our family in the person of Jesus Christ, our life has never been the same. Let our life story become His story!

A blessed Christmastide and a peaceful 2018 to all!