A Message on Christmas from Fr. Shane Stevens
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Dear Parish Family of Queen of Peace Pastorate,
Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! Something ought to be different about Christmas. It's not only the lights and presents and festive atmosphere that make it different. Those things are the expression of the difference, not its cause. Even soldiers fighting in snowy mountains and empty deserts feel the difference; even poor refugees fleeing from civil wars feel the difference, and they don't have Christmas trees or Christmas dinners or even a Christmas Mass.
What is this difference? What is the secret heart of Christmas that touches even the Grinches and the Scrooges? It is the simple message that God sent us through the baby Jesus. By becoming a human being just like us, by becoming a helpless little baby, by coming down from the splendors of heaven to live a regular human life right in the middle of the pain, sorrow, injustice, and suffering of this fallen world, God was telling us something that every one of us desperately needs to hear, he was saying: "I haven't given up on you, I will not give up on you, I will come to you!"
We human beings have made a real mess of this beautiful world that God put under our care, but God hasn't given up on us. Ever since original sin-darkened our minds and poisoned our hearts, we have all felt the sting of loneliness, regret, remorse, and interior division - truly, we have all sinned and rebelled against God. But still, he hasn't given up on us. He is more powerful than the world's selfishness. His light is brighter than the darkest darkness. His love is firm and faithful, like the mountains. His wisdom is deep and ever-flowing, like the oceans. His goodness is endless, like the sky. God hasn't given up on us and will never give up on us. That's why Jesus is called Savior. Today in the City of David a Savior is born for us - for us, for each of us, because God has great hopes for us.
These months of sabbatical time have been a great blessing to me, and I am grateful for all the graces I have received. There is much to discern, and unpack spiritually and that will take some time to do. I am grateful to Archbishop Gullickson, Fr. Miller, and Fr. Smith for their care of you and the coverage of the day-to-day events of parish life. I am grateful for your prayers, please know I prayed for your intentions at all the holy places I was so blessed to visit. I have returned to South Dakota and will resume my duties this week.
Peace to you and yours,
Fr. Stevens