True Christmas Meaning

Merry Christmas and a Happy

Thousands of years ago,

Jambo Youth Wishes you a

Revealed by prophets of the past,
Under the dark and starry night,
Don Bosco Utume December 16, Sunday: Issue 51
Emmanuel was born at last.

New Year 2008

Covered in His swaddling clothes, • Jambo You(th) is a weekly news letter aimed at helping the Youth in moulding their daily
Honor was given to the newborn King, lives in Christ.
Representing peace and goodwill to all men, • Our vision is expressed in just two phrases: GOOD CHRISTIANS and RESPON-
It’s because of Him that the angels did sing. SIBLE CITIZENS.
Features
Sent by King Herod to find Him, Pep-up : Stories for Reflection
Three wise men were led by a star, To the Young : A Miracle of Advent candles
Myrrh, gold and frankincense were given, Points to Ponder : True Christmas Tree
As gifts from the men from afar. Saint of the Week : St. Frances Cabrini
Standing in awe at the manger, Christmas Special : True Christmas Meaning
Last Drop : Christmas
Magi worshipped and gave praise joyfully,
Eventually this child would grow older, "For Always" - A Russian Christmas Story.
And give His life for you and for me. This is a true story shared by an American lady (Will Fish) who was involved in
teaching the orphans in Russia about Christmas. After she finished the story she
Now as we set apart a special day of the year, gave them some materials and asked them to make a manger for child Jesus.
In remembrance for all who believe, Here she continues her story; All went well until I got to one table where little
Misha sat--he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I
Never forget why our Father did send Him, looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in
God’s gift is the greatest we’ll ever receive. the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two
babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his com-
Last Drop pleted manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such
a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the hap-
For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is "hurry". And yet, eventually, penings accurately--until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in
the hour comes when the rushing ends and the race against the calendar the manger. Then Misha began to make up his own ending to the story as he
mercifully comes to a close. It is only now perhaps that we truly recognize said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and
asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no
the spirit of Christmas. It is not a matter of days or weeks, but of centuries papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him.
-nearly twenty of them now since that holy night in Bethlehem. Regarded in But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody
this manner, the pre-Christmas rush may do us greater service than we real- else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had
that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would
ize. With all its temporal confusion, it may just help us to see that by con- be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough
trast, Christmas itself is eternal. gift?" And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift any-
Burton Hills body ever gave me." "So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and
he told me I could stay with him---for always." As little Misha finished his story,
his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his
NB: Send your questions, comments or feedback to jamboyouth@yahoo.co.uk For further informa- hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he
tion and back issues of Jambo You(th) please check on our website: www.jamboyouth.multiply.com sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never
For Jambo You(th) in PDF log on to www.esnips.com/web/JamboYouth abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him--FOR ALWAYS.
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Editors: Anastasio Sdb & Shyjan Sdb
 To the Young
A Miracle of Advent Candles
by Madeleine Hogue Rabideau
Many years ago I was teaching a fourth grade religion class and preparing them for the Ad-
vent and Christmas season. I went to an area Five and Dime store looking for fresh candles
for my wreath. Now some people don't think God takes care of small insignificant details
such as helping me find the right size candles, but I know He does. I felt blessed to find the
last candles in the right colors and in the same size. I hurried to the cash register excited that
- in all the places I had looked - I had finally found a set of three purple and one pink candle
all exactly the same height. This had NOT been a good day for me so far. Things had been
going wrong all morning. I had been so frustrated. Now my mood was lifted and I was happy
to see two of the Sisters from the area convent standing in line with me. We were chatting,
as we waited, when I noticed they had also come for Advent candles. Only, the candles they
had were of different sizes. There I was clutching my equal and beautiful candles as I ap-
proached the clerk ready to make my purchase. Guilt started to rear its ugly head as I
reached for my wallet and looked for the amount on the register. "I should give them the
equal sized candles," my conscience said. Embarrassment added to my guilt as I realized I
didn't have enough cash. I reached for my credit card but they wouldn't accept it for such a
small purchase. I had to have at least $10.00 in items to use it. Now I reached for my check-
book. My face was approaching crimson. NO, there wasn't a single blank cheque left. I had-
n't had time to check it before I left that morning. Everything was going wrong. I remembered
that I hadn't even stopped to pray that morning. More guilt. I don't even deserve to ask God
for help. Quickly one of the Sisters came to my aid, offering the remaining cash I needed to
buy my "perfect candles". I wanted the candles for the next day's class and had no other
opportunity to get them before then. So I graciously accepted her help on the condition that
she would accept the candles I had for that would match hers. So we made the exchange
and were both happy. Now I was ready for class with uneven Advent candles but very grate-
ful for the Sister's help. My attitude had changed. On the way home I sang and thanked God
for the good Sister and her generous offer. I would repay her the next day before class. Ar-
riving at home I swooped up my purchases and headed for the house. In my haste, I lost my
grip on the bag with the candles in it. "CRACK"!! I heard the sound, as it hit the ground. I
cried out "OH NO, what will I do now!". I thought sure the candles were all broken to pieces.
My mood was beginning to sour again. I hurried into the house to check them but to my sur-
prise the only ones that were broken were the taller ones. I examined them closely and
couldn't believe my eyes. They had broken off at the bottom and were exactly the same size
as the others!! Who'd have thought candles would break off evenly, at their thickest end?
Immediately I turned my head to heaven and whispered a prayer of thanks. I not only had
what I needed for my class I also had a story of how much God cares for us. Even when we
forget Him He is there and cares about the things that are important to us no matter how
small and insignificant they may seem to others. I will never forget that day, and the Miracle
of the Advent Candles.
Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home. Carol Nelson
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The True Christmas Tree
"And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in
the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, ..." John 19:17,18
Each year, in December, families all across our world gather together to celebrate the birth of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of the most visible symbols of this Christmas season is
the Christmas tree. This evergreen tree is placed in a position of prominence in our homes
and decorated with lights and ornaments as a part of the festive nature of the Christmas sea-
son. However, this tree is a far cry from the original "Christmas Tree." For you see, the first
Christmas tree was not a beautiful evergreen found in some quiet spot in the woods. Rather, it
was a piece of rough-hewn wood with no natural beauty whatsoever. Its sole purpose was to
bring misery and pain and eventually death, and its only beauty was in the purpose for which
God was using it. Instead of being decorated with lights and ornaments, upon the two limbs of
this tree hung the Light of the World. His body beaten and bruised by the Roman soldiers re-
sponsible for his punishment. Beneath this tree there was no skirt of soft white cloth represent-
ing snow. No, the ground beneath this tree was stained crimson red by the blood being shed
for the remission of the sins of the world. Whereas we stand around the tree and sing Christ-
mas carols, those standing around this tree were hurling insults and blasphemies. The bible
says they mocked him, and said "If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matt
27:40) Even those who were being crucified with him showed him no mercy. Today we place
gifts under our Christmas tree, but tradition has it that in the past small gifts were tied to the
branches of the tree for children to search for and find. This is the only similarity between our
Christmas tree and the true Christmas tree. The greatest gift of all time was "tied" to the
branches of the tree on Golgotha. There, Jesus died for our sins that we might be able to be
reunited with him for all eternity. This gift was freely given, and unlike the gifts we give one
another, this gift is still active and available today. As you look at your Christmas tree this year,
don't let your gaze stop at the lights and decorations, look "through" it to the true Christmas
tree. By Chuck Sprayberry
SAINT for the WEEK
December 22 St. Frances Cabrini
This saint, distinguished for her work for orphans in the United States, was born in the North-
ern Italian town of Pavia in 1870. Her wish to live the religious life was initially frustrated by
poor health but her work in an orphanage in the diocese attracted the attention of a wider
circle. Her foundation of the missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart was approved in the
1880's and in 1889 she arrived in New York with a number of sisters, at the invitation of the
archbishop, to work among Italian immigrants, who were suffering from acute spiritual ne-
glect. The lack of infrastructure was so crippling that at first she was advised to return to Italy,
but she persevered and various foundations, orphanages and schools followed, including
some in Latin America, catering for many besides the Italians among whom she had originally
come to work. She died of malaria in Chicago in 1917 and was canonised in 1946.
Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. Janice
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