The month before Christmas
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Advent will begin in a few days. During Advent, there is a nice sense of inner peace. I don't have any immediate family anymore, so I'm spared the frenetic store-hopping looking for last minute presents. That's not to say that I do not remember many happy days when I still had 'lots of family' or one big family (as in religious life, for example).
In the present, still living alone, as a "senior citizen," I often feel the loneliness of life, probably a result of also being very forgetful. "Senior moments" are no longer ‘sometime’ occurrences; they are all too frequent, and I am told they could become a way of life. My life has become too sedentary, and so I still try to volunteer here and there, but one also pays more attention to the spiritual life. Because of my website and prayer life, I’m always into liturgy, and Advent is just around the corner; my thoughts are on the eternal heaven, which is probably also not far away. Let's just say that we are closer to the end than to the beginning. In that realization lies a lot of hope. Hope for a peaceful eternity if that is to be my lot. I hope it is.
I was always an impatient kid. You know kids like that. Every five minutes, they've got to ask, "Is it time yet?" Time to go buy an ice cream cone, or time to take out the dog, or whatever relieves the kid's interest for another five minutes. And some parents are close to a nervous breakdown listening to their kids; I hope not mine. They are gone many years now, but I still think of them now and again. They had only one child: me! They wanted more kids, I remember hearing, but the timing of the beginning of World War II and the upsetting years that followed precluded further growth in the family. Maybe that was just as well. It was a lousy time to be alive. From 1940-1945, we lived in Nijmegen (Netherlands) in a large three-story building with a store underneath, mostly in the cellar those days because of artillery shells being fired over our heads on the street above. There were shortages of food, not only because of the war situation but also because my mother was of Jewish origin, although married as a Catholic. She was denied food for herself and for those she lived with.
Why does all this come to my mind during these peaceful weeks before Christmas? I read a lot, some very good stuff and some well-written junk. And some stories that are just sad because I have to ask myself why it is that people hate each other so. If they loved their brothers and sisters, how could they perpetrate the sins of the Holocaust on one another? Throughout the history of the existence of people, one has attempted to slay the other. It began thousands of years before the birth of Christ, and it is still going on. Jesus Christ was a victim of hatred, blind hatred, for He never hurt anyone! The Jewish people and many others with them who suffered the atrocities of death camps were all innocent people. What could they have done to deserve such a fate? Some of my family on my mother's side were murdered during that time.
But it didn't stop there. Man's hate is very present in some places in the world, and if we listen to the news, we find out where. Those thoughts bring us back to Christmas, strangely enough, because Jesus Christ, as a baby and as a young man, traversed the lands of the Middle East where fighting never seems to stop. Why could people hate so much as to destroy their neighbor? It is senseless. War has never solved anything. It has torn families asunder, made hundreds upon thousands homeless, living in abject poverty. And you know the rest of the story. Friends tell me that time is over. I should forget those evil times. But I cannot, as I lived through it, and there are daily reminders of evil all around the world.
There is also a lot of good in the world. There are people who have consideration for others. People I meet in church are very good people. There are many who don't go to church, and most are good people too. The four weeks before Christmas can be beautiful and peaceful weeks. For many people, they are just that: individuals who understand their obligations toward others, fueled by a deep and abiding love for God. With His grace and love, peace is possible. During these four weeks, as we remember His birth so many years ago in Bethlehem, let us, with renewed courage and faith, bring peace to our families, friends, and loved ones. Then, on Christmas Eve or Day, let us thank the Lord for all that He has given us! He has given us the means to be with Him eternally. Use the grace He has given us wisely.
Wishing you a blessed Advent Season! It is a time
of Preparation for the coming of the Lord.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
November 27, 2025