A Special Christmas Gift

Every Christmas I had fallen into the same old pattern of stress: decorating, present buying, long lines, overspending, too much eating, etc, etc. Last year was different because I missed all that. I was ill with cancer and a regiment of aggressive treatment didn't allow for the traditional frenzy. I was left with myself and my prayers. My beautiful family took over for me, and I watched as the stress overtook them and the joy of the season passed us by. "Christmas day" for us happened a few days after the Saviour's birth when I was well enough to sit at our dining table. That day, everyone was somber watching me trying to bring a festive mood into our hearts, then something amazing happened. My little one-year-old grandson, who was from out of town, had just come bursting through the front door with such a look of joy and excitement that our home became a big bubble of happiness. I prayed that night and thanked God for this. Last year, a child's joy was mine and my family's Christmas gift.

This year that I am well, I am still decorating, present buying, overspending, etc. etc. but with a much different attitude. I am putting that little grandson's joy to the forefront and actually feeling what he felt. I pray for that feeling every night, and He gives it to me! I contemplated how Jesus must have felt as a little child, and realized that He was a little boy like any other who squealed with laughter and played with abandon. I created my drawing with that joy in mind. I am so blessed to be given that feeling at Christmas and I pray that everyone in the world feels it too. 

Thank you, Sisters, for using my illustration. I hope that the joy I feel shines through my work. 

Merry Christmas!
Guest Blogger, Artist Eleni Girgenti, Windsor, Ontario

Caption under artwork reads: Better than gold, frankincense and myrrh! Happy Birthday, Jesus!

My Favourite Christmas Story is . . .

My favorite Christmas story is from Father René Fumoleau, a Catholic priest in Lutselk’e, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. As a young man, Father Fumoleau was sent to a small Dene community in the NWT for his first assignment as priest for a local congregation there. One of the first things he decided he wanted to do was make the church more reflective of local Dene culture.

As part of this exercise he went to visit a local Dene artist. Fumoleau said to the painter, “I’d like to put a painting of the Nativity Scene into the church; but I’d like the painting to be done with references to Dene culture.”

The painter nodded and so Fumoleau went on: “I was thinking we could paint the Nativity Scene as if it took place up here. Maybe having Joseph and Mary–instead of going into Bethlehem– paint them coming into a Dene village maybe by dog team? And they went from door to door being turned away until they come to the Dene equivalent of the manger, a barn, the building where Jesus is born. What do you think?”

The painter nodded noncommittally.

So Fumoleau said, “Well it’s summer time now, it’s a long ways to go before Christmas. Think about it and I’ll come back and check out on you later.”

A few months later, in the autumn, Fumoleau went back to visit the painter.

“How’s the Nativity Scene going? Have you painted it?” The painter shook his head, and said, “No.”

Fumoleau said, “Well there’s still some time. I’ll check back later.”

A few weeks before Christmas, he visited the painter again.

He asked, “How’s it going? Have you made any progress in painting the Dene Nativity Scene?” The painter shook his head, and said, “No.” Fumoleau said, “You’re not going to paint one are you?” The painter said, “No.”  Fumoleau sighed and asked, “Why not?” And the Dene painter answered, “Because I can’t paint it the way you ask Father. If Joseph and Mary came to a Dene village, the first door they knocked on would take them in.”

Shared by Sister Mabel St. Louis

My favorite Christmas story is ...

My favorite Christmas story is from Father René Fumoleau, a Catholic priest in Lutselk’e, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada.  [He recounts it in a lovely audio CD of his stories, “They Gave Me a Chance”].

As a young man, Father Fumoleau was sent to a small Dene community in the NWT for his first assignment as priest for a local congregation there.  One of the first things he decided he wanted to do was make the church more reflective of local Dene culture.

As part of this exercise he went to visit a local Dene artist. Fumoleau said to the painter, “I’d like to put a painting of the Nativity Scene into the church; but I’d like the painting to be done with references to Dene culture.”

The painter nodded and so Fumoleau went on: “I was thinking we could paint the Nativity Scene as if it took place up here. Maybe having Joseph and Mary–instead of going into Bethlehem– paint them coming into a Dene village maybe by dog team? And they went from door to door being turned away until they come to the Dene equivalent of the manger, a barn, the building where Jesus is born. What do you think?”

The painter nodded noncommittally.

So Fumoleau said, “Well it’s summer time now, it’s a long ways to go before Christmas. Think about it and I’ll come back and check out on you later.”

A few months later, in the autumn, Fumoleau went back to visit the painter.

“How’s the Nativity Scene going? Have you painted it?” The painter shook his head, and said, “No.”

Fumoleau said, “Well there’s still some time. I’ll check back later.”

A few weeks before Christmas, he visited the painter again.

He asked, “How’s it going? Have you made any progress in painting the Dene Nativity Scene?” The painter shook his head, and said, “No.” Fumoleau said, “You’re not going to paint one are you?” The painter said, “No.”  Fumoleau sighed and asked, “Why not?” And the Dene painter answered, “Because I can’t paint it the way you ask Father. If Joseph and Mary came to a Dene village, the first door they knocked on would take them in.”

Originally posted, December 15, 2010  on Derek Dharma’s Blog.