A Christmas prayer

WE USUALLY ASSOCIATE Christmas with loud merry-making. This year, I would like to devote this time for prayer. The busiest time of the year in every Filipino's social calendar, Christmas has always made silence the oddly most expensive item on the bargain rack.

I pray that in the same manner my children are fast outgrowing Santa, I will also grow in faith so that I will be drawn closer to the spiritual meaning of this tradition than the endless partying around would allow me.

I pray, first and foremost, that this season will be a celebration of life?the bigger-than-life life of Christ who was born in misery and ended up on the cross in agony so that the hopelessly small lives of those who receive Him as savior would likewise rise up in glory with Him.

I pray for real togetherness in my family, not just in terms of physical presence but in terms of being there when joy overflows, when pain crushes, when changes bring discomfort, when words build up or when they shatter.

I pray that I will never be wanting in time to listen to my children's anxieties, to absorb their tantrums, to check their progress in multiplication and division, to laugh at their jokes, to hold back my temper when they lose theirs, to see them bite their tongue as they say in frustration "I don't like you" and make it up with hugs and kisses.

I pray that I continue to grow as husband as well, to always better my part in this endless love story. I pray for a special gift of memory for special occasions--birthdays, anniversaries, and other "firsts." I pray that I be as attentive to my wife's words as to her feelings, that I be able to give more time for conversations, bowling, and movies together. I pray that my words will empower the goodness in her as hers in me.

I pray for the families that are literally seas apart, for those who are unable to go home or be joined by their families in Japan. I pray for healing in the families that are separated not only by distance but also by hurt, that God will provide the circumstances for them to nurture back to life and warmth relationships that have waned or drifted apart. I pray for a fresh start to those who live close together with hearts far apart, whose years of taking each other for granted have resulted in barren marriages. I pray that every human relationship will be nourished, treasured, restored and renewed.

I pray for the hurting and the sick, those whose agonies have deadened them both to the festive noise and the silent message of this season. I pray that the tragedy of accident, illness and even death will strengthen families in love, make them rise above individual self-interests, petty grudges, self-pity and restore the sense of proportion in their values.

I pray for our financial needs in these times of lingering recession, that every person who loses a job will soon find another, that every businessman who makes a wrong decision will soon have the wisdom to recoup his losses, that every debtor will be able to negotiate his obligations in good faith and regain his capacity to fulfill them, that every creditor will be firm but fair and understanding. I pray most of all that these hard times teach us the most valuable lesson of all?that money is not the be-all and end-all of life, that the cliche "happiness is not in having more but in wanting less" is true after all.

I pray for those who are exploited or victimized in their job, for the entertainers who have to borrow or raise a fortune to pay government and promotion fees only to end with the indignities of their trade, for young women thrown early on in the harsh realities of life and are forced to date customers for extra income to be able to pay these expenses. I pray that as the Japanese government tightens the rules on promotion agencies, it will not be these hapless entertainers who will bear the brunt of higher hiring costs and the promoters' forgone income opportunities. I also pray for the Japanese descendants and other resident Filipinos whose hourly labor are the source of income of layers of brokers whose profits and luxuries come before the welfare of these workers. I pray that workers will be as thankful for the opportunity to work as their employers are for sharing in the benefit of their labor.

Above all, I pray for peace within our families, groups, churches, workplaces, communities and countries. The true meaning of Christmas is our reconciliation to God through Jesus. But even as we hear the celebratory songs of peace and joy, we are in turmoil within us and people are at war with one another. I pray that we live this message of peace, first of all by being at peace with ourselves, by forgiving ourselves of our imperfections and past mistakes, and by sharing this peace with the person next to us.

Merry Christmas! *

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