St Joseph & Mass Appeal

There was a time, not so long ago, when Christmas cards, religious pictures, and Nativity Scenes would portray St Joseph as an older man. After all, this is the Tradition of the Church.

These days, not so.

Last week while visiting family in North Carolina, I saw a discouraging sight … It was a Roman Catholic church building that looked like, ahem, well – suffice it to say, it did not look like a place of Christian worship! Rather, it resembled an Elementary school building: brick façade, green metal roof, no steeple, no statue — not even a Cross. You wouldn’t know it was even a church if not for the sign out front.

Then, beside the church sign, there was a big banner saying: “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Portrayed on the banner was a graphic of what’s popularly known as the Holy Family – but Joseph and Mary were the same age … they looked like young hippies in love, staring down at their new bundle of joy.

I wanted to scream: HEELLLLOOOO!

I mean, shouldn’t we be encouraging people to keep the MASS in Christmas? Face it, if we believe as we claim to: Christ is already there!

Yet it is the MASS, the Divine Liturgy for the Feast, that constitutes Christ’s Mass – CHRISTMAS! Such slogans are intended, of course, to remind us to remember Jesus amid all the holiday business of the shopping season that stretches from, at least, Thanksgiving to …

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