Christmas off the grid

"Joy is the true gift of Christmas." ~Pope Benedict XVI

Christmas Break is over, which means the parties, presents, and planning is over. No more Christmas Carols on the radio. No more Christmas movies on TV – not even on the Hallmark Channel. The kids are back in school. The grocery stores are full of slim fast and spandex.

This is my favorite part of the Christmas season.

Yes, for us Catholics it is still Christmas. I first learned the difference between the secular Christmas calendar and the Catholic Christmas calendar in Catholic school. It wasn't a specific homily or lesson, more an observation.

Santa had come, Jesus was born, our Christmas tree was on the front lawn, but when I returned to school Christmas was still happening. We prayed Christmas prayers. Father greeted us with “Merry Christmas!” at the first school Mass. We sang Christmas hymns.

Like most kids, I loved Christmas. The idea that it was still going on was wonderful.

That wonder has only grown as I became a Christmas-facilitating parent. Being slightly out of step with the world’s idea of Christmas lends me peace on earth.

Secular Christmas begins the day after Halloween and ends on Christmas Day, which is too soon on both accounts. Catholic Christmas begins on Christmas Day, ending the second Sunday in January with the Baptism of the Lord. This is perfect.

It's okay to shop slowly and decorate gradually during December, for Advent is all about preparation. I try to wake a little earlier, saying my morning prayers by the light of the Advent Wreath. For me, that’s the eye of the secular Christmas Cyclone, the place of peace.

It's okay to leave the halls decked and nibble Christmas cookies well into January, for our Lord's birthday is worth more than one night. I've noticed when the secular party train winds down, reverence comes easier and joy is more profound than on Christmas Day.

It’s my quiet little Christmas.

I make a point to make the first school Mass in January. I enjoy hearing the priest greet our children with a big “Merry Christmas!” I enjoy hearing the priest tell the children that we’re still celebrating – pointing out the songs, the decorations, the white vestments, and the Nativity Scene surrounded by poinsettias.

And I watch the younger kids’ faces to see that light switch flip and hear them call back, “Merry Christmas!”

Need to bolster you Christmas Spirit? Come to our school Mass this week.

Enjoy the children singing the seasonal songs, their young voices reading the scriptures of wonder, their hands folded in prayer before the altar decked with light. Follow them to the King's feast, celebrating the season of joy.

Merry Quiet Christmas, dear BCACS Family! Let the celebration continue. 

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A BCACS Christmas Story...

Christmas is a time for stories and here is one our BCACS staff shared with me.

Shortly before Christmas break, the staff of the St. Joseph Elementary School found a surprise on their desk in the morning – a large gourmet candy cane lollipop.

It wasn't just one grade or certain teachers – everyone had one. Not knowing whom to thank, the staff started to email each other for answers. No one knew.

Giant lollipops are sure to attract young eyeballs. Soon the students were aware of the staff' quest to know who gave the sweet treats. A few of the younger ones thought it must be Santa Claus, as leaving gifts in the night without a note is his calling card. Other students thought someone else fit that description – the school's custodian Mike Gagnon.

Mr. Gagnon has been with the BCACS for many years, starting at St. Philip High School before moving to St. Joseph Elementary School.

“Mike is a soft-spoken, friendly but quiet guy,” Cathy Erskine, BCACS enrollment manager, said. “He’s super-conscientious of the quality of his work and always willing to lend an extra hand whenever needed.”

“Our students think the world of him,” Jeanine Winkler, St. Joseph Elementary administrative assistant, said. “While other schools might consider his job to been done by someone invisible, our students consider him often throughout their day. He is on our prayer lists, they send him ‘I am Thankful for You’ cards at Thanksgiving, and there is always a ‘hello’ in the hallway and a ‘thank you’ when he unsticks a stuck locker.”

Turns out the kids were right. Mr. Gagnon was the staff's secret Santa.

“When I thanked him, his response was, 'I am just glad that I able to do something like that for you guys,'” Ms. Winkler said, noting his “humble quietness” before he returned to his work.

This story warmed my heart.

I have met Mr. Gagnon many times over the years, usually when picking up a kid’s project after school or dropping a kid off at the gym for basketball practice. He silently sweeps the floors and tidies the chairs, stopping only to ask if I need anything. A few times he opened a gate or a door when one of my kids “forgot” an important assignment.

I can imagine him cleaning the classrooms and the offices of our BCACS staff and leaving the simple Christmas gifts without a note or fanfare before turning off the lights and shutting the doors.

The custodian may be invisible in some schools, but not here. Our kids appreciate Mr. Gagnon and his work. More importantly, they could connect the dots between this simple gift and the humble man who gave it.

Comments, questions, have a few suggestions? Write us at BCACS.Blog@gmail.com.

Harking a herald of angels

I went to a Catholic school which means Catholic school Christmas shows go back to my earliest memories. For weeks our music teacher took us through our assigned carols. Each grade sang two songs – one reverent, like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, and one fun, like “Frosty the Snowman”. Most of us had to stand on the risers. A few of us got to dress in costume and act. And a cross-section of students from all grades closed the show with the musical version of the Nativity.

It was a big deal attended by parents, grandparents, friends and family.

One year, the music teacher picked my sister to be Suzy Snowflake. She picked me to read the Nativity story. My sister got to wear a beautiful white costume with tinsel and ballet shoes. I got to wear the same thing all the girls were wearing – white blouse, dark skirt, and shoes that didn't make any noise. We both got to miss class for special rehearsals, but while my sister danced across the stage, I stood on the side, reading from Luke while other kids in costume acted out the Nativity.

I felt my sister received the better deal until the night of the show. Peering into that dark auditorium as hundreds of adults watched a group of schoolchildren perform the Nativity and sing “Silent Night” was powerful.

I never forgot it.

For the last 12 years, I’ve been one of the adults watching as my children perform in the annual BCACS Christmas recital. The experience is still powerful, maybe more so. It prevents this sacred season from being a Winter Solstice Gift Exchange, full of bills and calories and logistics. It reminds me of what I believe and who I am trying to become and why.

Having a school Christmas show is one of the luxuries of attending a Catholic school. There is no need to beat around the bush or filter for generic holiday ditties. We know the reason for the season and are free to celebrate it. Whether harking a herald of angels or smiling at Suzy Snowflake, Jesus is the eternal source of our Christmas Spirit.

The BCACS Christmas show is different from any other school event, even the musical ones. It's the only time of year our whole school family is involved – all the grades, all the parents, all the teachers and priests and administrators. Together we enjoy the energy of the little ones and the musicianship of the older ones and camaraderie of being communal shepherds of our BCACS flock.

And, as always, there will be kids in costume performing the Nativity, singing “Silent Night”, and connecting us to Christmas recitals past, present and future.

A quote that deserves an encore:

Our BCACS music teacher Ayesha Williamson Franklin shared this with our BCACS Family recently. It seemed the right “note” to end this blog post. ~nlvm 

“Today, a preschooler sang in music class. She has not said a word in music class all year and, it is my understanding, not much outside of class. Some days she would participate, but most days she would just sit quietly. Today, she sang. And it was beautiful - on pitch and full of joy. Today was a great day.”

Have a question about our schools? Want to highlight a special BCACS moment? Send them to us at BCACS.Blog@gmail.com.