Legends

The beautiful red poinsettias around the Nativity scene in the Gathering Space took me back to a sermon during which our dearly departed Father Evenson shared the legend of this beautiful red Christmas flower. How had I never known the connection before he retold it?

Father Evenson shared the legend of a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Mass. As she walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy. Pedro said consolingly, I am sure that even the humblest gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes. Not knowing what else to do, she knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. She felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.

As she approached the altar, she remembered Pedro’s kind words that the humblest gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes. She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season and thus, the legend of the poinsettia was born.

My Memorial for Christmas Flowers this year will be in memory of Father Dennis Evenson, who is spending his first Christmas in heaven. May he rest in peace.

This heartwarming blog post is submitted by our E Team.