"Census at Bethlehem" by Pieter Breughel the Elder
As I was walking the streets of San Francisco this evening, looking at all the Christmas trees in the windows, I was reminded of this message of St. Pope John XXIII, when he left his position as Archbishop of Areopolis in Bulgaria in 1935:
"There is a tradition in Catholic Ireland that on Christmas Day each family puts a lighted candle in their home, so that if Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary should be passing by they may know that within, beside a fire and a table blessed by the grace of God, the family awaits them."
All the lit windows made me see Christmas a sort of reverse Passover--instead of making a sign to ask God to pass over us, I saw the trees as an invitation for God to join us. May we invite our Lord and the Holy Family to join us always!
Merry Christmas!
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