Christmas

In the midst of the multiday blizzard that paralyzed parts of western New York, Father Seil, chaplain for the Buffalo Fire Department, had to evacuate the rectory at his parish in the city’s Old First Ward neighborhood on Christmas Eve, then spent the night aboard the department’s fire boat and celebrated a short Mass Christmas morning for crewman Jack Kelleher.

Comparing the suffering Jesus and the Holy Family endured to the way many people and refugees are suffering today, the patriarchs and heads of churches of the Holy Land reminded the faithful of the “deep and abiding love” God has for all his people.

A matching Nativity scene shines alone inside the couple’s arc-shaped driveway — including the Holy Family, angels, shepherds, wise men and farm animals — clearly set apart from all the rest.