This is a reflection shared at the Advent/Christmas liturgy.
December 20 , 2024
Christmas time is a time of lists. You have your Christmas list, you have the list of the people to whom you want to give a gift, and then there’s Santa’s naughty and nice list. You have the lists of Prep assignments and projects due before or after break;…and some of you have your college lists. And, of course, you have the ESPN lists—top 10 best plays of the year, and the not-top-10 plays of the year. The Grammys have the list of nominations out for Album of the Year or Best New Performer of The Year. The New York Times has the best books of the year. Time magazine has the list of the most influential people of the year, and so on.
So in this season of lists, I’m asking you to make three more lists by New Year’s Eve. My homework for you over break.
First, I want you to think about the top three people for whom you are most grateful in 2024. Think about them and then write them down. Literally, with pen and paper, write the list. And if it’s longer than three, great. It may be a parent, a coach, a teacher, brother, sister, a significant other. It may be a best friend. Write their names down. And then I challenge you to not just feel grateful. Find time to be grateful. Be intentional and reach out to them and say thank you, and do that a lot.
Second, I challenge you to think about your top three moments when you were your best self…again, literally, write it down. Now I’m not saying when you had your best times…I’m saying when you were your best self. What do I mean by that? It could be a time when you gave your very best…when you were physically, mentally, even emotionally exhausted, because you gave everything you got. Maybe that’s academics, maybe that’s athletics. Maybe you were your best self working in and through a relationship.
It could also be a time when you messed up and said you were sorry, a time you owned a mistake and said, “That’s my fault,” or a time when someone apologized to you and you said, “I forgive you. We are good.” It could be a time when someone was hurting or sad and you reached out…or a time when you heard a racial slur or a homophobic slur and you said, “Dude. C’mon. That’s not right, don’t say that.” None of these things are easy to do, but they bring out your best self. Truly, make that list, think hard about this one, and I challenge you to ask yourself: “What does this say about my character?”…or, said another way: “Who am I?”
Third, think about the top three moments that made you laugh in 2024, and then write them down. The times that brought great smiles to your face, or made you laugh so much that you couldn’t control it—a laugh that hurt your belly or brought tears to your eyes. Maybe around the table in the commons or on the commute to Prep or maybe in your favorite teacher’s classroom.
My challenge on this one is to also search for times you laughed at yourself…when you didn’t take yourself so seriously…when you smiled and reminded yourself that sometimes what you were worried about really wasn’t that important…the times when you opened your eyes to reality instead of being worried about perception and said, “I’ve got to slow my roll; it’s all good.”
So after you make these three lists…won’t take long. Great. Maybe take some time over break and share some of what you thought about and wrote down with a friend or two…because that’s what friends do. They share reflections, they share top ten lists, they let their guards down in front of each other, and they listen to each other. Really listen to each other. It strengthens the brotherhood.
I know I’m asking you to think a bit, write a bit, and share a bit. I’ve got one more for you. I’m asking you to pray a bit. Just take a little time, even 30 seconds and say, “God, here are my three lists for the year. Thanks for the people, thanks for the times that helped me live out my best self, and thanks for the laughs.” God is listening, and God loves you an awful, awful lot. More than any of us could possibly comprehend. I promise.
So find some time to work on those lists, and I’m not going to ask you to submit this on Canvas. I’m not going to check your work. I do know, though, that writing helps us think a little bit more deeply about things, and I know that it’s important to pray. Give it a shot.
So with Christmas break just 30 seconds ahead of us, I close with words from Lucinda Franks, a Pulitzer Prize winner, who writes: “The ancient dream: a cold, clear night made brilliant by a glorious star, the smell of incense, shepherds and wise men falling to their knees in adoration of the sweet baby, the incarnation of perfect love.” In my heart, I believe that you, all of you…faculty, staff, coaches…and my Prep brothers…I believe that you give us a glimpse of God’s perfect love. Maybe hard to imagine. But you are a glimpse of God’s perfect love. My hope for you is that you believe the same thing and see the same thing.
May the joy of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, the worship of the wise men, and the peace of the Christ child be yours this Christmas.
Sub Umbra Petri,
Michael Gomez, Ed.D., ’91
President
