Taking the Christmas tree down was a bittersweet activity yesterday. Unlike the evening we gathered to decorate, Nat King Cole and his Christmas carols were silent; no anticipation in my grandson's eyes or the smell of Swedish coffee bread hot from the oven... just memory after memory making me smile as each ornament was lifted from its branch. After the final ornament was layered in a box for next time, I stopped to look at the star. The lights lit up the ceiling with wings

Not having much voice left after sharing their gift at Midnight Mass, a kind quartet—who knew the 11:30 morning Mass would need music to feel like Christmas—showed up. After Communion, Chris Tomlin's song, "Noel," sparkled through the arches of St. Mary's. I closed my eyes and was carried away to perfect peace, as the delicate weaving of acapella notes tugged at my heart. Tears flowed, and when the last notes hung in the air, applause filled the church in thankfulness for th