A Christmas Message of Joy and Unity

For many families, Christmas will not be the same this year and for various reasons – whether they have lost someone over the past year or not having recovered from Hurricane Lisa. But that trauma aside, Christmas is about coming together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time for thanksgiving and sharing with less fortunate individuals in the spirit of the season. But while the meaning of Christmas differs with each family, including the activities that they are engaged in, Father David Kiblinger says that the message for the season is about joy and unity. 

Fr. David Kiblinger

Fr. David Kiblinger, Saint Martin’s Parish

“The primary message is that we matter; that we’re worth it; that the son of God is becoming incarnate as one of us so that bestows on us a worth that is just incalculable. Christmas can be a hard time and have a lot of emotions coming out, but if we keep recalling that this basic thing, God came to be with us, that should make it a source of joy for us. At the very least, even if people are not religious per se, it is a time of unity, it’s a time of family, it’s a time of love, it’s a time of joy. That’s my hope, but I know that there are people who lost loved ones this year, people for whom this will be a hard time, maybe gathering with a mother or a father or spouse. And even then, I hope that people can take consolation in the fact that Jesus cares about everyone and so that can be a source of comfort even if it is a hard time. People have told me that if you want to see Saint Martin’s come to our midnight mass. So we will have a service starting at eleven p.m. and Christmas carols before that – should be just a time of praise and joy, a time to be together, a time to remember again the joy. We’ve had a little bit of tough time in the past two months here, but this will be a time to gather and just be joyful and praise God.”