Every so often, Christmas Eve falls on the third Thursday of the month. And so it was 25 years ago. That meant our front page had a super Christmas feel to it.
The Catholic Sun printed writing and artwork from Catholic school students:
- In word, they finished the thought: Jesus came to my house and…
- Through art, they illustrated: The birth of Christ means to me…
A second-grader at St. Catherine of Siena wrote:
If Jesus came to our house, first we would say “Happy Birthday” to him and kiss and hug hum. Then, he would bless my dad and make him get out of his wheelchair and walk. Then my daddy and I could go riding and fishing and hunting and shopping like we used to. Then my mom could go back to work like she used to. Then we would all be happy and blessed by this very special and very important visit from Jesus, who loves us all. We would say “goodbye” and kiss him and give him a lot of fruit to take to heaven.”
Some excerpts from other entries:
- If Jesus came to my home to visit, I would like to let Him in. I would read Him a story, and He would give me credit for the book… I would give Him a crown and He would love it. (first grade boy)
- If Jesus came to my house, I’d ask him if it was the end of the world, and I’d say, “Happy Birthday!” …I would also ask about the things I don’t understand. Most kids would ask for peace, but peace starts within you and your family. (fourth grade girl)
- One story with lots of dialog had Jesus reading the writer’s thoughts, showing the fifth-grader His holes in His hands, walking on the pool water and playing the clean-up pitcher.
- A few stories depicted Jesus wearing “Guess” jeans. In one of them, the sixth-grade writer said the family let Jesus play on its Atari 5200. It continued:
“He played Pac-Man and played 52 games and on each one he had all of the pac-pellets eaten in five seconds!
(after playing games, letting each person win, and eating) At 10:00 Jesus said goodbye and then he left. “Now I know how the apostles felt when Jesus dies,” I said.
