Hi, this is Fr. Rocky with another Advent Inspiration.

I think every family should have its own Christmas traditions, passed down from generation to generation. It’s one way of fulfilling the fourth commandment, “To honor your mother and father.”

I have some friends who still keep alive a family tradition after many generations. Every year on Christmas Eve they invite friends and family over to their house for a wonderful party, and everyone brings along a favorite dish. It’s a great moment to reconnect with friends and family you haven’t seen in a year and catch up on the news.

But the highlight is when everyone gathers in the living room around the piano to sing Christmas carols, and the all-time favorite in this family is Silent Night, because their ancestors came from Germany and Silent Night was originally composed in German. We sing all the verses in English, and then do our best in German, as we reflect in wonder and awe of what it must have been like to leave Germany 170 years ago to start a new life in America. After all these generations, are we keeping the faith?

P.S. If you have missed a previous Advent Inspiration, you can find all of them here.