After the high point of Christmas, when the lights and decorations come down, Bishop Michael Izen said there is a long list of reasons people might feel down. It can be even more difficult, he said, living in Minnesota with short days and long nights.
“I have to remind myself of this: Christmas is not the problem,” Bishop Izen told “Practicing Catholic” producer Rachael McCallum on the program set to air at 9 p.m. Jan. 17 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. “Some people don’t look forward to Christmas precisely because of that, because they know it’s going to end. Focus on what Christmas is supposed to be. It’s the birth of Jesus, the birth of our savior. It should be a reminder of the opportunity of starting fresh, of a new beginning, and it certainly doesn’t end after one day.”
Bishop Izen said he encourages others to allow Christmas to change their approach to life by recommitting themselves to their goals. He compared it to a New Year’s resolution.
“My motto is ‘Emmanuel’: God with us,” Bishop Izen said. “I chose Emmanuel in part because of Advent, Christmas, but also because of the Eucharist. That’s how God is mostly with us. I’m reminded all year round through the Mass that this is what we’re celebrating here. Emmanual, God with us in the Blessed Sacrament.”
Bishop Izen also recommends maintaining the joy of Christmas in mundane moments. Most of our lives, Bishop Izen said, are going to be ordinary. But these moments should be embraced, he said, because God wants to reveal himself to us in the ordinary things.
“It’s like that story of Elijah,” Bishop Izen said. “He’s sitting outside the cave and waiting for God and a hurricane comes and God’s not in the hurricane. An earthquake comes, he’s not in the earthquake. A fire comes, God’s not in the fire. Finally, a small, gentle, whispering wind that whispers in there and that’s what God’s found in. The spiritual high, the Christmas cookies can be nice, but it’s not going to sustain us.”
Bishop Izen recommended that everyone, every night, look at how God’s been working in our lives, even for just that day, and how we responded to the Lord and how we failed to.
“That’s where the idea of examining comes from,” Bishop Izen said. “Identifying, ‘Maybe I did some things right and maybe I came up short and have maybe a sin that I might need to confess.’ … When we look back on our day, we can see that we have plenty to be thankful for, that God was working in there.”
To hear more from Bishop Izen about keeping the spirit of Christmas alive after the season is over, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Jan. 18 and 2 p.m. Jan. 19.
As part of the program, don’t miss Rachel Hastreiter’s journey to California while leaning on God’s plan for her life. Also, Madeline Larson, a grant coordinator for Epiphany Caring for Life discusses visio divina and how it has become an increasingly popular practice.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, “Practicing Catholic” can be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
