‘Every Christmas is different. The feast is the same, and so are the Christmas carols and the other customs. But all of this comes into lives that have not stood still since last Christmas. Some have experienced the death of someone very close, and this will be the first Christmas without that person. Some have experienced a birth in their family, and this will be the child’s first Christmas. Some have moved to a new home or to a new city, and this Christmas will include new neighbors and new friends. Some are without a job, and wonder what to do… Even though our lives are different, the memories of Christmas in the past come back each year and are added to the meaning of this feast. We remember how it was when the family was young, or when our mother was still living, or when times were better, or when times were worse… All of this, the past and the present, is poured into our Christmas. And that is fitting, because Christmas is a time when we celebrate a God Who became part of all human life.’ – Cardinal John F. Dearden, Archdiocese of Detroit, who was ordained a priest on this day in 1932.
