A Christmas Letter from our Director of Programming, Deena Pavinato
Dear friends,
I might be a bit unusual, but I love the reading of the genealogy of Jesus on Christmas! Some years it is proclaimed better than others, but there is something comforting to me to hear the names of all the people in the family line of Jesus. The names weren’t always familiar to me, but I knew they were real people with a history. This year, in my parish, we studied the Old Testament ending with the Maccabean Revolt and the rise of Rome, in preparation for our study of the Messianic Fulfillment and New Testament in 2024. I know at an even deeper level now that some of these names are of people who made terrible mistakes. And yet, Jesus was born in the house of David, from a lineage of men and women, awaiting the Messiah.
This year, during Advent, we also listened to the reading of the Annunciation and the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary a couple of times. The line that often gets overlooked is the last line of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1: 26-38) is “Then the angel departed from her.” Mary, who just said “yes” to this incredible news, unsure of her future with Joseph and how her family might react, is left alone.
The day we have been waiting for, anticipating, during Advent has arrived. Jesus is born!
We recall his birth in Bethlehem, we await his coming at the end of time, and we look to him each day as we try to live a life that responds with our “yes” to the individual calls and paths that God has placed before us. We are fortunate that we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide our discernment and decision making, each “yes” along the way. St. Ignatius invites us, as we enter into prayer, to feel the gaze of God upon us and call on the Holy Spirit to guide us as we listen and respond to those daily invitations, annunciations, in our lives.
We, the team of Ignatian Ministries (Becky, Kathy, and me), have called on the Holy Spirit every day this past year as this ministry has been birthed into the world. We have listened, along with the help of many of you in our community, on discernment calls and meetings and know that even on days that it might feel like an angel has left us, God has always been with us. God is with each of us!
We feel blessed this Christmas for all that has unfolded this past year, we are grateful for each of you, and look forward in grateful anticipation to what will unfold in the new year. We wish you peace during these holy days of Christmas.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Ignatian Ministries!
Peace,
Deena Pavinato
Director of Programming
Going Deeper Together:
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Pray the Genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1: 1-25), reflecting on your own family history. How have your ancestors helped shape the person you are today?
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Pray Becky’s Christmas Blessing.
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What thoughts of Deena’s did you resonate with as you read her post? Have you arrived at Christmas ready to welcome Jesus? The Christmas Octave is eight days long, what else might you do to experience the joy of Jesus’ birth? We invite you to share your comments on this page.
Photo by Deena Pavinato, Nativity scene at Holy Family Church
Deena Pavinato
Deena is the Director of Programming for Ignatian Ministries. She lives in Oglesby, Illinois among the corn fields of North Central Illinois. She has a Masters Degree in Counseling Education and over 30 years of corporate work experience in customer support leadership, project implementation and process improvement. Deena is a Benedictine Oblate, loves the practice of Ora et Labora (prayer and work), and relaxes and expresses her creativity through her weekly blog, papercrafting and mixed media projects, journaling and gardening.
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