On the Fifth Day of Christmas…

A rain-soaked procession carries prayer and witness through the heart of New York City on the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

I took some time off recently. Christmas Eve. Christmas Day. A day or two after.

And something interesting happened. Poor sleep. Agitation. A distinct loss of clarity.

When I say I took a few days off, of course, I’m referring to running and cold plunges. A few five-mile days and a few seven-minute immersions in around forty-five-degree water.

You’d think it wouldn’t matter that much. That out of 365 days, surely a handful couldn’t amount to any meaningful decline.

But it did. And I suffered. Suffered worse than I would have if I’d just kept to the routine. Who knew.

Those things aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things, not counting my sanity. And that got me to thinking about the things can’t be skipped. Things like prayer. Sharing our Faith. Caring for those in need, and a litany of other things. Those are the very essence of what we were created to do: to live, to love, to serve.

St. Joseph understood this. It’s the Gospel he preached without words through his example. When the angel appeared, telling him to take Mary as his wife, he did. When he was told to flee with the Holy Family from Herod’s murderous intent, he just did. And as he raised the child Jesus, sheltered Him, and protected Him and Mary, he simply did. No days off.

There’s a harder truth that follows: evil never takes a day off either. Which is why our devotion to Christ, our commitment to love, and our practice of mercy can never rest.

A little over a week ago, the Sisters of Life held their Nativity Play, a simple but sacred celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the gift of life, and their commitment to uphold its dignity. Warmth and joy in a parish gymnasium.

And in stark contrast, today, on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, on the fifth day of Christmas, those same sisters took to the streets. Despite darkened skies, slick pavement, and intermittent rain, they walked shoulder to shoulder with the faithful, with Dominicans, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. Standing in witness to the first God-given right, the foundational right upon which all others stand. The right to life.

Because when it comes to love of God and neighbor, there can never be a day off.

On the day when the Church remembers how the streets of Bethlehem ran red with the blood of innocents. On the day when Rachel wept for her children and would not be consoled.

A witness was given.

A witness that the things most important in life are precisely the things that allow no days off.

We can learn this through experience. But we can especially learn it from Christ, whose love, mercy, and embrace are perpetually and eternally extended. In the good times and the bad. In the joyful and the sorrowful. In consolation and desolation.

He’s relentless in His pursuit of us.

Because His love never takes a day off.

Don’t get me wrong though. We need time to rest and recuperate from the trials and challenges of life. And we should get out and take time to simply enjoy all that God has given us in nature, friends and family. It’s crucial, and helps us to live more fully the life we’ve been gifted.

But there are those other non-negotiables.

And come to think about it, to be in communion with Jesus? To encourage others in Faith? To be a vessel of His Love and His Mercy?

Those things?

Why would you want to take a day off?

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You have my heartfelt thanks for your generosity and support, and please keep me in your prayers, and know of mine for each of you. God Bless and Merry Christmas! Jeff