To the Band of Brothers: December 14, 2020
Good morning!
I know last Friday I jumped the gun and wrote to you guys about yesterday being Gaudete Sunday. Hopefully, you remember it is the name given to the third week of Advent and it comes from the Latin for rejoice. One thing I failed to mention in the email was that grammatically, the term gaudete is in the imperative. In other words, the Church uses the word as a command. It is not that she is suggesting we rejoice, but commands it. I think it is important to point that out, especially now.
Here’s what I mean. Because of the pandemic, my parents have been hunkering down a lot. My father is a lung cancer survivor, and while he is doing really well, doctors have told him he has to be extra careful not to get COVID. The fact is his lung would not handle it well. So, in an abundance of caution, he has kept his distance and so have we.
This hasn’t been easy for any of us. My siblings and I are very close to him, but we understand the importance of taking care of him. We know that it is only a matter of time before the vaccine makes its way into his system and then we can come together like before. But for now, social distancing is necessary.
It’s especially hard during the holidays. For the first time in 50 years, he was unable to celebrate Thanksgiving with his children sitting around the table. He wasn’t able to cook his famous turkey. He also makes a gravy with all the innards of the bird that sounds terrible, but actually tastes incredibly good. The same is now going to be true for Christmas Eve or Nochebuena. We will have to miss out on his lechón asado, arroz blanco, and frijoles negros. I have to tell you, my dad doesn’t usually cook, but when he does… wow.
As Christmas draws near and I begin to think about missing out on this upcoming dinner, I realize those things I usually look forward to will not be there. The traditions of unwrapping presents in my parents living room with my nieces and nephews while drinking sidra and eating turrones, the singing of happy birthday to the baby Jesus that my grandmother insisted we did no matter how old we were, and the customary pajamas we all get on this holy night will have to be put on hold for one year.
So, how can the Church command us to rejoice when the virus is the grinch that will steal our Christmas?
It struck me that while I thoroughly enjoy all those beautiful family traditions, they are simply expressions of the true meaning of Christmas. Virus or no virus, what we celebrate is the birth of Christ. In the midst of the pandemic, I am reminded that Jesus is the reason for the season. Everything else is simply ways we use to celebrate the essential reality of the birth of our King. The joy that I experience and that renews my spirit after a long year of work finds its true source in what took place in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. That doesn’t change.
You know, I realize this Christmas, more than ever, I am presented with an opportunity to reevaluate where I am spiritually. It has given me an opportunity, undistracted by the food and presents, to re-examine how strong my relationship with Jesus is and where I stand in my commitment as a Christian. I know that while I enjoy the traditional Christmas celebrations, I don’t really need them to truly experience the joy of the season. This, in my opinion, is the greatest Christmas present of all.
So, while I hope you all have an opportunity to be with your family on Christmas and are able to enjoy those great old family traditions, don’t forget that Jesus is the reason for the season. Sing the carols, eat the great food, hang up the stockings, and unwrap the presents, but don’t forget the Lord, the true meaning of Christmas. Everything else is just gravy.
Auspice Maria
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba, by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit is situated on a 34-acre site in western Dade County, just minutes away from downtown Miami.