Thank you to each of you for cards, gifts and good wishes for Christmas 2022. I remember when I became an uncle and later a grand uncle. I was very excited to see my niece, but my brother and his wife lived overseas. I did not meet her until she was six. She is an only child and at one time, her mother laughed when she asked who was ‘that man?’ I was the man she asked about. When she found out who I was, she became very close to me. The following year another niece was born, and I was excited to see her. Each niece or nephew which came along was fascinating. One has the same birthday as her mother and two, a brother and sister have the same birthday, two years apart. One thing I have never liked in Churches, are crying rooms. Some people complain, they cannot hear anything when a baby cries. Perhaps they are lucky not to hear what the Priest says! However, they do hear something. They hear the crying of someone who hears people’s voices, yours and mine and wants to participate in events, even though they cannot express it. Young people, (babies,) are searching from the earliest stages, to make their way in the world. Parents and each of us, has the responsibility to see we help them in every way. The birth of a child is always evidence of God’s love, deepening the roots of God’s love for us and each of us recognizing it. This weekend is the Epiphany. It means a manifestation. When we give a gift to someone, whatever the occasion or none, it is a way of expressing how much we appreciate someone and hope the appreciation lasts. When I left the seminary after ordination and said my goodbyes, some students gave me a gift to remember them by and pray for them. I have done so for all these years. The Magi’s gifts were gifts fit for a king. That child, the Christ child, is still a king and will be for all time.
God bless.
-Fr. Hendry