This year my mom offered me a few dozen pins that said “Keep Christ in Christmas.”  I handed them out at the St. Clement Young Adults’ monthly social, and wore one to work the next day.  It seemed hypocritical to ask others to wear them and not wear one myself.

Usually people saw the bright red pin, lean in, and asked what the pin said, to which I would reply: “Keep Christ in Christmas – want a pin?”  Some people took the pin, others didn’t.  One coworker said “No thanks; I’m not a Jew for Jesus.”  Another saw the pin from a distance and thought it showed a skull and crossbones.

I found that nobody was offended and everyone was extremely respectful.  I sometimes entered into rather interesting conversations about faith and tradition – another coworker mentioned that he sometimes used his lunch hour to pray at a local cathedral.

I’ve become a lot more comfortable with my Catholic identity in the past year; it felt good to wear my religion on my sleeve (or shirt pocket) rather than keeping it hidden.  I enjoyed being a bit more overt with my faith and hope I can continue sharing Christ’s love with others during this new liturgical year.

Merry Christmas!