Lucy replied: “Promotion! Don’t be under any illusions, these days it’s all about promotions! »

Thinking about it further, Lucy adds, “I bet if the truth came out you’d find out he’s funded by a big Eastern channel!” »

People like Lucy always seem to find the negative side of everything. Another person saw some of the negative reactions to celebrating Christmas and presented them in the form of prayer. She wrote: “Father, forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who make Christmas against us. »

I like the idea of ​​forgiveness at Christmas. We must be able to forgive ourselves for all the things we don’t accomplish and all the plans that don’t work out. We must be able to forgive those who do not meet our expectations. We often yearn for a perfect Christmas celebration. We think we should have a wonderful time. All the televised celebrations are full of angelic, smiling children who never make any noise. The adults are all friendly, kind and good singers.

When I was a kid, I watched Lawrence Welk’s Christmas specials and they were perfectly orchestrated. The scene I remember was in perfect harmony, full of glitz, glamor and glory. I thought the perfect Christmas would be like this when I grew up.

In reality, there are always a number of things during our Christmas celebrations that don’t go as planned. There are two ways to respond to the frustrations of the season: harden our hearts like Scrooge or soften our hearts and forgive ourselves and others.

Sometimes we think about the divine and perfect side of Christmas and forget the human side. Someone said that when we think of Christmas we should include these phrases: 1) Peace on earth, 2) God’s will for all, and 3) Batteries not included. I like it, it includes the divine and human side of Christmas.

Who are we as God’s people? We were the ones who bought the unbreakable toy that lasted 15 minutes. We were the ones who bought the “permanent” Christmas tree lights that were so tangled we couldn’t figure out why they weren’t working properly.

We’re the ones who ate a few more pounds of chocolate and candy than we should have. We were the ones who stayed up late to assemble the bike, which arrived “complete” – with no instructions. We are those who have weaknesses, failures and infirmities. We are the ones who could have, would have and should have done better.

These are all good reasons why we can consider forgiveness to be one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves and others.

Prayer: Our Lord, we are glad that the wonderful story of Christmas supports the divine message but also allows for the failures of our human response. Amen