6 January 2022
Thursday after Epiphany
Well, no offense to the liturgical calendar, but today ends the Christmas season, at least for those of us who must grade papers and exams right up to Christmas. We need the extra days! Today starts another season of celebration, perhaps not liturgical but certainly with some notoriety. Today begins Carnival. We think of Carnival as only existing on Mardi Gras, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, but it encompasses the season from Epiphany to the Tuesday before Lent. Some of you may be familiar with a carnival treat known as King Cake that has a little baby Jesus hidden in the cake. The little Jesus associates the event of carnival with the Christmas season. What does this mean for us? Well, the joy of the Christmas season just cannot be contained in twelve days! Perhaps a dignified way to celebrate the carnival season would be to recall that we cannot give what we do not have and so that joy that we all need first needs to reign in our hearts so we can share it with others. Even though Covid has dampened our spirits, let us reignite them again with a little cheer that we can spread to others. As Mother Teresa said, Love begins with a smile. We have all had enough bad news and we need to recall the words of Auntie Mame who said “We need a little Christmas.” During the dark days of January, sharing a smile may be the best way to get through what could be a long winter!