Christmas in Heaven: Do You Believe?

My oldest brother will be celebrating Christmas in Heaven this year. He passed away this week. As I have previously written, he has suffered from ALS for over a year and a half. It progressively became worse and worse until he became totally disabled and was bed ridden, paralyzed, relying on machines to feed him, breathe and for bowel movements. The end was the worst for him, lying in pain. He wanted to turn off the machines but changed his mind too many times for him to actually be able to do it. In the end, his body just gave out and he passed away. Now, he has joined our mom and dad and two brothers who passed before him. Knowing that he is joining them is comforting. He is at peace now. Gone is the pain and the fear.

I wonder if I could stand the thought of death without knowing there is God, Heaven and an after-life.

My mother taught us to go to church every Sunday and to celebrate Mass on Holy Days, especially Christmas. She taught us to dress up on Sunday, go to church, honor God, honor the day and spend time with family. Later, she encouraged us to become active at church, join the choir, teach Catechism and to feel love for our fellow man. She taught us so many songs, both for church and for Holy Days. She taught us to sing from our heart and to show love for our fellow man! She taught us to say the Rosary. She taught us to say grace before meals. She said religion, our souls, is what makes us different than the animals. We believe in God. We believe in Heaven. We believe in Eternal Life after Death.

Holidays were always special times. She taught us, as her mother taught her, the Posadas. During the Christmas Holidays, everyone helped to festively decorate the church. Las Posadas were a special time in our church. We reenacted Joseph´s journey with Mary to Bethlehem. Las Posadas started on December 16 and continued through Christmas Eve. Our families went to church every evening during this time for the reenactment. We went from house to house and sang songs. It was a beautiful time of togetherness. It also helped all of us understand the true meaning of Christmas. Mary and Joseph arrived at the inn and we were all welcomed in for the birth of Christ. When I think of those times, I think of the birth of Christ, the singing and the feeling that we were all joined together in this Celebration of the True Meaning of Christmas!
I remember a Christmas song my mother taught us as children and it still resounds in my memories today:
"Ya rompió el alba del día, nació el niño manuelito, cantemos con alegría, a la lu, Niño chiquito. A la lu, Niño chiquito. Cantemos con alegria, Cantemos con grande fe, alaven los dulces nombres de Jesus, Maria y Jose. De Jesus, Maria y Jose."

As I sit and contemplate Christmas, life and death, illness and health, this life and the next, I wonder what I would be thinking right now if my mother did not instill these beliefs in me?