Kristine Penningroth-- Christmas Time

Well we are once again in the Christmas season and once again we are becoming busy with the holiday crazyness, this is the perfect time to forget what Christmas is really about. Sure everyone loves the gifts they get and going to holiday parties and decorating the house but does anyone really remember church and the four Sundays of advent? To be honest I am guilty of not going to church a lot myself and then going on Christmas, not the best practicing catholic, but during the time leading up to the holiday I try to better myslef. Many people let church fall by the wayside because they don't have time to go, or they forgot to go, or they just don't want to go, but during the holiday season they try make amends and try to start the new year out on a good foot. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? I think that the real meaning has to do with reconnecting with God and asking for forgivness for short-comings and mistakes. It is about helping other out and aking a difference in someone else's life and not just futhering your life and successes. An important part is also hearing and heading the word of the Lord when it is read during mass. Van der Leeuw talks to us about listening to the word of the Lord and how important it is to act accordingly. It is the gospel or the readings in mass that give us the knowledge of what God and Jesus stood for and wanted to spread throughout the world, and it is that word that makes people change their ways and help others before helping themselves. It is sad that this only comes out around the holidays, mainly Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it is a start to change that many people want to partake in. They say Christmas is a time for miracles and every year miracles hapen.