Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

I know that Christmas is more than just gift giving. However, I do identify with “Ralphie,” the character in “A Christmas Story,” who desired a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle. This was the gift he longed for. It occupied his attention and he never failed to let his desire be known. He told his parents, his teacher and even Santa Claus. But alas, it seemed beyond his reach.

For me, that gift was a bicycle. I had come of age (8), and a bicycle was a symbol of maturity. It would give me status among my neighborhood peers and it would make me mobile. No training wheels, this would be the real deal two wheeler — a big boy’s bike. However, I knew that we were not rich and, plain and simple, the bicycle would be outside of the family budget. I believed that it would just remain a nice dream.

A couple of days before Christmas, I was in the kitchen with my Mom. She had asked me if I completed a task that my aunt and uncle asked me to do. Since my aunt and uncle lived with us in the front, first floor of our two-story home, I figured that I would just ask them. Before my mother could stop me, I walked into their apartment. There in the living room was a shiny, new Blackhawk (German-made) bicycle shipped from Marshall Field’s in Chicago. My jaw dropped. What was that bike doing in my aunt and uncle’s living room? At first, it didn’t make sense, but it suddenly became clear that this was my Christmas present. My mom, following me on my heels, shook her head as my aunt and uncle shrugged their shoulders in a gesture that said, “What could we do, he just burst in?” They had all been so careful to keep the surprise under wraps until Christmas Day, and now the surprise was spoiled. But really, it wasn’t.

As I grew older, I realized what sacrifices my family made for my happiness, denying themselves so that a dream could be fulfilled. This would not be the last or only sacrifice my family made for me. I also realized that the greatest gift is the “giver” and that the gift, no matter how small or large, is a symbol of the giver’s care for you.

The biggest surprise we share at Christmas comes in a small package hidden from the world in a stable. This gift is also revealed as a sign of the giver (God’s) love and care for us. God fulfilled our wildest dreams by giving us the possibility to live forever in His love. How blessed we are to take His gift, and in His name LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the December 22, 2015 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.