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The alumni football team played at St. Andrew's in November

Alumnus speaK

It's Christmas, and it's time for giving gifts. The greatest gift that we can give is the gift of our very selves. On December 22, I promised to marry one Ms Sarah Keller. The ceremony will be held within the next half-year on a date yet to be determined. On that day, I will consecrate my life to serving her and our children. Together we will seek to bring each other to heaven. We will be given to and receive each other for all that we are, allowing God to make up for what we each lack.

Nothing comes to my mind in prayer more than what it means to become a gift of self. In the Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes, the fathers of the council announce good news: "... man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for its own sake, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself". My beloved friends, the secret to meaning and purpose in our lives explodes from this statement. We are made in the image and likeness of God, the very God who gives us a gift of Himself in the child Jesus who goes on to give us his very life on the cross. If God would give His very life for us whom he loves, and we are made in his image and likeness, then in order for us to truly live and find love, we must throw down all the walls that keep us from loving until we die.

It is as Mother Theresa once said, "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." The powers of this world scream, "Give if it doesn't hurt; give up when it does! Don't go beyond the minimum requirements. Certainly, don't make sacrifices or go on dangerous adventures for the sake of others." Fear, doubt, false humility, and outright pride all tempt us so that our love is locked away, so that the gifts of our love and presence will be hidden from a world so desperately in need of it. Each of us is needed to be a gift, and none of us will be happy until we become such. Not one.

As I prepare to become a gift to my bride, I remember how each of you whom I know has shown me what it means to give one's very self away in love. I remember our time at the UCC, how we served one another as we served Christ, and I recall the words of St. Paul, "Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us" (1 Thes 2:8). This Christmas season, I am grateful for you all, and I am praying that your magnanimity will never cease to help souls reach the merciful Heart of Christ.

Many blessings!

Paul O’Brien