This is the night … O night divine Every year we bemoan the commercialism of the secular Christmas season, which starts earlier each year. Last year in my home state of New Jersey, it began before Halloween. I thought it might threaten Labor Day this year, but some stores had Christmas-in-July sales right in the middle of summer. With such focus on the “things” of Christmas, no wonder we struggle to find peace in an Advent that has all the outward calm of a runaway train. Celebrating the Christmas season definitely feels countercultural. Before we’ve finished the octave of Christmas, gifts have been returned and trees hauled to the curb. There’s not a seasonal song to be heard anywhere beyond church doors. Holding on to our Christmas joy seems almost impossible. In fact, it really is impossible if we celebrate it as an isolated moment in time without centering it in the liturgical year. “What good would life have been to us, / had Christ not come as our Redeemer?” It’s not so hard to gather our communities to worship for Christmas. Our numbers are smaller, though, when we gather for Triduum. But Christmas without the cross is an empty joy, a moment that cannot last. We do ourselves and our communities a disservice when we “adapt” the liturgy so much to accommodate those folks who only join us on those happy celebrations of birth and new life that we lose sight of the sacrificial context. Christmas and Easter joy are empty when not joined to the Passion in between. Certainly we should enthusiastically welcome all who come to worship regardless of where they are on their faith journey, especially on “the night of the dear Saviour’s birth,” but that welcome must always include an invitation into the paschal mystery. Christmas isn’t just about Christmas Day. When we come together to celebrate, even on Christmas, we celebrate another holy night “when Jesus Christ / broke the chains of death / and rose triumphant from the grave.” In this issue we address some of the ways that we work to keep our celebrations rooted in the context of death and resurrection. Joni Woelfel talks about the emotional challenges of the season and how these can be a pathway from darkness into light. Paige Byrne Shortal bravely tackles the sticky issue of the “Christmas Family Mass” and how to transform this into a positive liturgical and formational experience. Helen Keating visits the environment of the season, discussing ways to prepare worship space consistent with how the liturgy calls us rather than reflecting the “decorations” of the world outside. Todd Flowerday connects the rites of the church with Advent home celebrations to preserve traditions that sustain us through the years. This season can be very difficult, especially for those working in parish or community life, where demands on individual time can be draining. Ministering to those most in need at this time of year can leave us emotionally and spiritually exhausted if we don’t take care to keep all of what we do in balance. Certainly this year we are acutely aware of a “world in sin and error pining” as we try to recover from the economic consequences of our greed and arrogance as a nation. That economic downturn not only leaves us simplifying our lifestyles and tightening our belts but also demands that we care for one another in profound new ways. We are encouraged in that effort; our weary hearts find a thrill of hope as we reach out because of that other holy night, “when the pillar of fire / destroyed the darkness of sin.” There is for us a glorious new morn waiting after this holy night because of that other holy night “chosen by God / to see Christ rising from the dead!” So this Christmas, may we celebrate the season cradle to cross, birth to rebirth, holy night to holy night. O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night, O night divine! O night, O Holy Night, O night divine! (Placide Cappeau [1808–1877], 1847; translated from French to English by John Sullivan Dwight [1813–1893]) ML We’re Still Green: ML remains a “Paper Hero” on Green America’s Paper Project website (www.coopamerica.org/programs/woodwise/publishers/heroes/index.cfm) because it is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. SUBSCRIBE NOW! What do YOU Think? Send an e-mail to ML Editor or post an entry on the ML Current Issue Discussion Board. (All submissions become the property of RPI and may be edited for length.)