Merry Christmas from Monastic Foodie! Some may think this is a late well-wishing…

Let me relate a story from a couple years back. I was in the seminary and had from that point about 4 months of contact limited to about 80 people. It was my spirituality year and I didn’t have use of the internet or a cellphone. I spent Christmas day at the seminary and was able to return home for break on the Feast of Saint Stephen (26 December).

Naturally, I had errands to run while home from break. Being disconnected from all the social media and constant contact with the world, I was embracing the joyful spirit of Christmas in a way I had yet been able to do so.

I was shopping and went through the checkout. It was the 28th or so. I smiled at the cashier and said “Merry Christmas!” BIG SMILE.

She looked up at me, gave me a funny face, frowned, then said “I’ll give you…happy new year…”

The Christian celebration of Christmas is not a one-day affair, or a two-month capitalistic preparation just to open presents for a couple minutes, eat food, then take the tree down…

The Christmas season is an unfolding of the brightness of the Light of the World, the Christ Child. So, don’t put that Nativity Scene away, rather, spend more time at the Crib. Give the Christ Child, in the silence of the crib, the gift of yourself, as we prepare for the Feast of the Epiphany.

And…celebrate Christmas. Yesterday was the Feast of Saint John, the Evangelist. Traditionally, on this feast, wine is blessed. So, have a glass of wine.

After Mass this morning, I celebrated with a cup of coffee, which surprisingly stayed warm in my Monastic Foodie mug. So, if you need a mug for your cold winter mornings, find it at my store. You won’t need to break your fast before Mass with coffee. Instead, you’ll have a nice warm cup of coffee after Mass waiting for your post-Mass drive, even on these frigid mornings.