Youth News: Spend Time With Jesus
MICHELLE HEHIR, GB Youth Board
Published: December 23, 2004
The day after Thanksgiving and the malls are full at 5 a.m. Signs display sale prices and what is hot for this season. People with lists and budgets walk around trying to find “that certain something” for friends and family.
Scenes like this make it hard to remember what Christmas is all about. I often find myself reminiscing back to when my third-grade teacher, a nun, told us to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. This was a phrase that I had never heard before, and even now I find myself thinking this in the midst of driving around a parking lot for the third time and still not finding a space. It is hard to believe how this holiday has changed. It seems that now instead of celebrating Jesus Christ and his Holy Family, we look to Santa Claus, Rudolph and all his gang.
Keeping Jesus’ name holy during this time is not the easiest of things to do, I’ll admit. Walking down the halls of any high school, you rarely hear kids commenting on how they are going celebrate the birth of Jesus but rather what they are getting for Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong, though—we aren’t the only age group that is guilty of this act. It is easy for anyone to get caught up in the materialism of this, now secular, holiday. Some days it feels as though Jesus has stopped being the reason for the season and iPods and Abercrombie have stepped up.
Christmas is more than a few weeks off from school and great presents. The holiday is supposed to be about celebrating Jesus on His birthday. If you find yourself falling into this frenzy this season, it might be wise to take a moment and say a prayer, or, if that isn’t your thing, why not sing a song about the birth of Jesus? Why not spend a few minutes with Jesus in adoration or just sitting in church? There are many things that you can do—just find one that works for you!
Michelle Hehir is a senior at Winder Barrow High School and a parishioner at St. Matthew Church, both in Winder.
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