Do You Love Me?

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I read today's Gospel through tears of joy. I was profoundly touched by the conversation between Jesus and Peter. I was moved to tears by the gentleness and compassion Jesus shows to Peter, and to us if we but ask.  The gregarious, outspoken disciple is finally humbled by the Lord and recognizes, maybe for the first time, that Jesus truly loves him, trusts him, forgives, and forgets all of Peter's failings and weaknesses. This passage is moving but we would do well to first read the entire 21st Chapter of John, a mere 25 verses to really understand how the relationship between these two men has moved to an entirely different level. John brings his Gospel to a close by taking us back to the very beginning of the relationship. Back then, Peter was out fishing all night, catching nothing, before his first encounter with the Lord. Here too, Peter, who is at this point confused, wrestling with emotions of hope and guilt, joy and sorrow, is out fishing all night catching nothing. Ag
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Merry Christmas

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Merry Christmas! The Hahn house is still standing (so far) even though most are tucked in bed for an afternoon nap. Everyone is still in a reasonable state considering the last twenty-four hours.

Yes, contrary to popular ideas, we took everyone to Midnight Mass last night. And I must say, God is good. I was so surprised by the event. Of course being a WCSS sufferer I was ready for the worst.

We skipped naps on Christmas Eve day and kept the boys busy with games, crafts, etc. After dinner we put them to bed at about 7:00 PM. They were excited about the plan, Santa, and all but they were also tired so it didn’t take long for them to go down. Nicole and I napped as well. I set the alarm for 10:00 PM.

When the alarm went off I got up and started working on some luminaries that we were putting together to surprise the boys. We took old half-gallon milk jugs, put in a couple inches of bird seed and then a votive candle. We used these to line one side of our drive. After the luminaries were lighted and in place we worked on waking the boys.

There was plenty of complaining to go around. No one wanted to get up in the middle of the night and get dressed up to go to Mass. As each one got dressed I took them out in the cold night air on the deck to look at the luminaries. The magic of the night began to have its desired effect. Rosy cheeks and excited eyes couldn’t wait to get their jackets on.

I had not been to Midnight Mass for years and didn’t know what to expect. The Church was packed and it was beautiful. We sat up front so the boys would have plenty to keep their attention. The trees, poinsettias, choir, incense, Our Lord – it was awesome and the boys were speechless. Toward the end of the Mass the warmth of the Church began to lull them back toward sleep and we drove home looking at all the decorative lights and we almost hit a 4-point whitetail buck at the bottom of our drive.

The boys hurried to change back into their pajamas but it took some time for them to go to sleep. I ended up on the floor of their room – keeping company and guarding the door. I crawled into bed at about 3:00 AM. They woke us up at a quarter till 7:00 AM but we put them back in bed for another hour.

It has been wonderful and full of excitement and magic for the boys. I hope it has been the same for you and yours. Merry Christmas and May God Bless You!

FROM THE SAINTS - "And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and the proclaim peace to his people on earth as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvelous work of God's goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?" - Pope Saint Leo the Great (taken from the Office of Readings for Christmas Day)

Comments

Sarah Reinhard said…
Oh I'm so glad to read this, Jim. We took Toddler-tron to "midnight Mass" last night too (it was at 9:30 here where we're visiting out west, very strange and not so child-friendly), and it was magical too. Maybe not so much for her (she is almost two), but for us, even with the non-welcome-ness we felt.

Merry Christmas!
8:29 PM
Leticia said…
My older girls, ages 9 and 13 insisted on going to Midnight Mass, though I kept telling them what a sacrifice it was. We ended up standing, and holding our sleepy 4 year old for an hour, but it was beautiful nonetheless to feel like Christmas was just happening and we were there!
We got to bed at 2:30, and held off the troops to about 8:00 for opening gifts. The sacrifice of Midnight Mass for us helps our focus on what Christmas is all about.
3:55 PM
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