‘Christ with me …’

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. -- Jn. 1:14

May the joy and wonder of Christ’s incarnation be with you during this Christmas season.

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to enter into a four-day retreat and leadership experience. During these four days I not only received some insightful information that will help diocesan youth ministry as a whole, but I was able to enter into a time of prayer and reflection. This time of prayer and reflection was very good, as I was able to center myself in some new ideas and thoughts that will help us move forward in our ministry to the youth. We truly are on a journey, and I ask that you will continue to walk this journey with me.

May this Christmas season be a time of joy and a time for you to re-energize as well. And through the celebration of Christ’s incarnation, we can together continue to share the word of God with our youth.

I wonder how our youth would respond, if we asked them about Christmas. How many of them would enter into a conversation regarding the Incarnation? I was drawn to this during the retreat, as one of our prayers included the song, "The Breastplate of St. Patrick."

I can only imagine St. Patrick offering this prayer: "Christ with me and before me; Christ behind me and within me; Christ to the right of me, and to the left of me; Christ above me and beneath me: I bind myself to the virtue of Christ." I asked myself how many of our young people truly recognize the power in these words and Christ’s presence in their lives.

In staying with the same theme I have focused on over the past several issues, my hope is that each of our youth can and will take this to heart. As our youth celebrate this Christmas season, take a short break from their academics, and for some move back into the regime of winter sports during this break, I pray that each of them will be able to find a deeper awareness of Christ’s presence.

I believe that this can be a reality in all of our youth, but I am not sure that they can do this on their own. They need our assistance in helping them recognize Christ’s presence in all they do. There are so many things in this world that occupy their time, many of which can easily distract them from what is truly important. They can easily lose sight of what is truly important. In the same Gospel of John, we read "But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name." In the reflection for Christmas Day in "The Word Among Us," it says this, "This one simple verse tells us why Jesus was born -- so that we could become children of God. Could there possibly be a greater Christmas gift? All we have to do is receive him and believe in him."