Pastor's Reflection - Christmas 2025

The True Essence of Christmas

When I was a child, Christmas was one of my favorite times of the year. We spent Christmas with my grandparents in Tacoma, and I have many happy memories of the time we spent with them and other family members.

In 2001, while I was serving as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Enumclaw, I had a very unique Christmas. In some ways, it was a very difficult Christmas, as my grandmother was in the nursing home, and I had been trying to help my grandfather provide care for her. There were many disappointing experiences, as the medical care wasn’t great, and he was feeling overwhelmed trying to take care of her. I took her to many medical appointments.

After finishing all of my Christmas Masses, I left Enumclaw to spend the day with him in Tacoma. I hadn’t had the opportunity to pick up a Christmas gift for him, but I was so grateful to find an open Walgreens and to find a few items and a card to bring to him. I assumed that there would be a few restaurants open to pick up some food. After frantically calling around, I found a Chinese restaurant and was able to get a takeout order.

My grandfather was a man of few words, but he was a man of great integrity and character, and he would give you the shirt off of his back. We shared the meal with little conversation and then went to the nursing home to visit my grandmother. It was a difficult visit, as she was confused (suffering from dementia) and lying on the floor on a mattress. He kissed her goodbye, and we then returned to his home.

When I left his house, I reflected on my experience and realized most of the things I cherished as a child were gone. There were no stockings, Christmas tree, or presents, etc., as I had come to know and appreciate. It was just our family doing the best we could to face a very challenging situation.

Truly, that Christmas taught me to “value the things that really matter” (Philippians 1:10) and that the whole meaning of Christmas is that the Lord is close to us always, but especially in times of challenge and adversity. That is the essence of Christmas.

No matter what challenges you are facing right now I pray you will know how close the Lord is to you and that He will never abandon you but desires that you seek Him with your heart and you will indeed find Him.

In Christ,

Fr. James Northrop, Pastor