We hear at lot about the commercialization of Christmas at this time of year. Certainly in a time of deepening recession, I suppose we need a lot of buying to spruce up the Christmas spirit. But one thing I think the church has gotten right and the culture we live in has gotten wrong is the timing of our celebration of Jesus' birth. The church doesn't really start celebrating Christmas until Christmas eve. In our Irish inspired house, when I was growing up we never took down the Christmas decorations until Epiphany twelve days after Christmas. Of course we were the only ones in our neighborhood to extend the celebration so long into the New Year. By Jan 6th all our neighbors' Christmas trees had been long since been hauled off.

On the first Sunday of Advent I said Mass at a Veterans' hospital. There Christmas had already begun with full navitity set and trees all decorated... just as the church was beginning it's somber season of penance as preparation for the feast to come. Well that's the government for you. At Marylake, we didn't cut the trees during the 3rd week of Advent, and on the 4th and last Sunday of Advent we began to decorate. The first picture was taken on the 4th Sunday, December 21st. Fr. Raphael helped me string the lights on the tree, and then I began building the crib, as seen above in its initial stage of development. All was completed on Christmas eve. The crib is different each year as it is constructed anew each Christmas. So the final result is always similar but ever new. I think the finished product shown here was actually last year's crib. I haven't gotten around to taking a picture of this year's, which would be the logical complement to it's beginning pictured above. But you make do with what's at hand when blogging!

The Carmelite friars of Marylake wish you all a blessed Christmas. May the peace and good will of the season carry over in our hearts into the New Year.