December 21, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

Not too long ago I read a beautiful reflection on St. Joseph by a Carmelite sister. She compared Joseph to a pine cone. Here are her words:

“The prickly, hard pine cone doesn’t compare with the beauty of tender, sweet-smelling flowers, but it is an important image to me because it speaks of the self-sacrificing protection of St. Joseph and any variety of difficult situations. The purpose of the pine cone, as we know, is to protect the seed life inside. How that brings to my mind Joseph’s strong protection of the Divine Seed, Jesus, and his tender and beautiful wife, Mary. The pine cone is built for adversity, you might say, just like St. Joseph was.”

Pine cones always fascinated me as a child (and still do in some way). They’re kind of like a leaf, in that they are a by-product of a tree, and yet they are of greater substance than a regular leaf. Fallen leaves eventually turn brown and crummy, and they are more of a nuisance that we have to rake and remove. But we don’t see fallen pine cones that way. There is a mystique to them. They resemble the tree with the bark, and they allow us to keep the tree with us, as the pine cone doesn’t deteriorate like the leaf. Pine cones are nice to burn in a fire and look pretty as a decoration.

As the religious sister wrote above, the pine cone is meant to protect the seed within. In warm, dry weather, the scales of the cone open up, releasing the seeds to be taken away by the wind. In cold, wet weather, the scales contract to prevent the seeds from being harmed by the weather and birds. These types of pine cones that protect the seeds are female cones, while the male cones are those that are smaller and softer and do not carry seeds but produce pollen for fertilization. So, it is somewhat interesting that the religious sister would compare the female pine cone to St. Joseph.

Mothers, of course, protect their children and families. I think of the term “Mamma Bear.” Mary certainly was this figure for Jesus. Though, interestingly, she was a more discerning or selective “Mamma Bear.” She let her son be attacked by the Pharisees and ultimately die on the cross. She didn’t intervene. This was because she knew this was ultimately the will of the Father—for Jesus to suffer and die for us. Protecting Jesus from the cross would not have actually been good for her son, and obviously not good for all of us, her sons and daughters. It was extremely painful for Mary to watch her son suffer and die. She proves her dignity in that she actually willed Jesus to die, for this was his fulfillment. The “seed” that she was protecting was not so much his physical life as it was the seed of redemption. Because Jesus died, we all have the possibility to experience the union of our souls with God. That’s what Mary was serving, something more than her son’s safety and survival.

Mary was able to be the pine cone because Joseph was her pine-cone-mate. Joseph helped her. We often think of Mary, because she is the Immaculate Conception, as a totally-formed mother. But think about it. If Jesus “grew in wisdom and obedience,” and Jesus obviously is God and greater than Mary, then so too would have Mary, sinless though she was. Joseph helped his wife love in a properly motherly way, which is unconditional while recognizing the unique features of the child. This love allowed Jesus to flourish.

So, we see the complementarity of mother-father, husband-wife. Mary and Joseph allowed Jesus to be the God he is for us now. Let me explain. We all love Jesus. We are attracted to him and we like to spend time with him. He comforts us, listens to us, and inspires us to be better. This didn’t necessarily have to be the case. Jesus could have simply redeemed us in a sort of transactional way and then ascended back to Heaven. All subsequent generations wouldn’t have been inclined to have a personal relationship with Christ. But we do, and that’s because Jesus’ personality is so beautiful. And that beautiful personality was both formed and protected by Mary and Joseph.

Your Christmas tree at home probably doesn’t have actual pine cones on it. It has fancy ornaments, lights, and a pretty star or angel at the top. That’s fine. But you might take a moment to pause and remember the pine cone. Remember not just Mary and Joseph, but remember your own mother and father, and other loved ones who have formed and protected you. You wouldn’t be the person you are without them. Their love wasn’t necessarily always pretty, like one of those ornaments, but it did give you life. And you have spread that life.

May God be glorified in us, his trees and pine cones. Merry Christmas.

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Oplatki Christmas wafers are still for sale in the rectory office and in the sacristy before/after Mass through the week.

Our liturgy schedule this week will be: Wednesday, December 24th at 8:30am for the last day of Advent (there will be no 6:25am Mass or confessions); Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24th) Vigil Masses will be: 3pm (UC) and 3pm (GYM), 5pm (UC), Midnight. Christmas Day Masses will be: 7:30am (UC), 9am (UC), 10:30am (UC), and 12pm (UC).

On behalf of the entire staff at St. Paul of the Cross, I wish you and your families a very merry Christmas. Thank you for all your support of the parish. May you enjoy the celebration of our Lord’s nativity and may you and your families experience Christ’s peace on earth.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace