Bishop Michael Izen said Christmas is so big that it brings a weight of expectation each year.
The auxiliary bishop said this is partly because the hype for Christmas begins early, sometimes even in October or September.
Bishop Izen told “Practicing Catholic” producer Rachael McCallum on the program that will air at 9 p.m. Dec. 6 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, “It’s just amazing how they start advertising so early. And of course, the stores still start decorating around Halloween, and so the implication, I think, is that this is going to be great, right? We’re thinking that way back in November. So, if it’s not amazing, there’s something wrong with us.”
Bishop Izen also believes people may fall into the trap of nostalgia, remembering their childhood Christmases as being perfect.
“We have this false memory, it’s like a little foggy, that well, everything was perfect when I was a kid,” Bishop Izen said. “Christmas was magical, and it should be that way still. We have those higher expectations that things should be perfect because our memory isn’t really all that great. … Celebrating Christmas is not going to be perfect until the next life.”
When Bishop Izen was a priest at St. Raphael, he said he was asked to make a sick call on Christmas morning. His first thought was, “It’s Christmas, I can’t do that.”
“But of course, somebody’s dying, so yes I can do that,” Bishop Izen said. “I go to the hospital and while I was there, I ran into another family in the hall. I didn’t know them, but they wanted me to visit their dad, and I can’t really explain what happened, but those were two of the greatest hospital visits I’ve ever had because I just followed the Lord’s call. It seemed like a big sacrifice at the time, and it just ended up being a blessed visit to the hospital for both of those two families.”
Bishop Izen encourages people to let go of their expectations for Christmas, and if God is asking us to do something else, follow it.
“Christmas is this flurry of shopping and gifts, buying and hosting parties, which all those are all good things, but I think sometimes we become a little wrapped up in the business of the season instead of leaning into the quietness of it,” Bishop Izen said. “Perhaps that’s really what the end of the year should be focusing on is just this quietness and realizing we’ve come to the end, and we’ve done everything we can do on our part and maybe just leaning into God a little more because you know we’re never going to be perfect in this lifetime.”
To hear more from Bishop Izen about how to lean on God this holiday season, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Dec. 7 and 2 p.m. Dec. 8.
The program also includes a discussion with Cynthia Palm on her journey through the Advent season as a former Baptist. Also, Becca Reither shares her journey to Uganda and how her mission there supported orphaned children.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program can also be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
