Merry Christmas!

Not long before he retired, Fr. Ed Bell began his Christmas homily by asking if anyone remembered any of his past Christmas homilies. After an embarrassed silence, he laughed and said he didn’t remember any of them, either. That’s OK–Christmas isn’t about homilies. (Or blog posts.)

• mp3: “If I Had One Christmas Wish”

  Words by Bruce Russell. Music by Mike Benedetti. Performed by Benedetti and Russell with Sarah Assefa.

From today’s homily by a different priest at the same parish:

I don’t care if Wal-Mart doesn’t have a nativity scene. I don’t care if K-Mart doesn’t have a nativity scene. I care if these pews are filled.

My Christmas wish is that your heart and home are filled today.

And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Fatherâ€s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
—John 1:14