Thank you, Santa Claus, for the excuse to greet old friends again, even if just once a year. Friendship has been a real blessing for me. I just wish I could acknowledge it more often.

This past year brought its share of challenges. On my 85th birthday in January, I awoke to a sharp pain in my knee that made walking nearly impossible. My trip to the hospital, hobbling into the emergency room with a cane, was just an omen of what was to come.

In October, I once again woke up in pain. This time, it was more severe, requiring a week in the hospital and the rest of the month in recovery. From a hospital bed to a walker, then a cane, and eventually a slow, unsupported walk—each step forward came with the help of prayer.

The year brought its rewards as well. In June we Jesuits met for a week with the Micronesian priests from the Carolines for serious discussions about the future of our work. We spent our evenings around the sakau stone sipping the local pounded kava and sharing stories. My furlough in August gave me a chance to spend a few days with a dear friend I hadn’t seen in fifty years, while another friend, from thirty years ago, made a special trip to New York just to share dinner. During my stay in San Diego there was a party with some old friends from Micronesia over past years, and a gathering of Filipinos from more recent times. But it wasn’t all old buddies. The family get-together in the Adirondacks gave me a chance to get to know some of my grandnephews and -nieces. How is it that they are so much sharper than I was at their age, I had to ask myself.

When I wasn’t traveling or recovering from illness, I was able to take on a project or two. I wrote a handful of articles, including one examining the sudden population loss in Micronesia titled “Where Have They Gone?” We’ve also begun a video documentary on the great awakening of Saipan during the 1960s (which has nothing to do with the Age of Aquarius, incidentally). Then there were the single classes I was happy to teach at the local university and a bit of work helping those drafting theses for higher degrees. But mostly, at this age, it’s a matter of whispering into the ears of the young thoughts on what they might want to take on someday, even if I don’t have the time or energy to do the job myself.

That was the past year, and here we are at Christmas again. You may not be as old as me, but we all face our own challenges. With my Christmas prayers and love, let me offer this final thought.

Whether you wear MAGA hats or prefer blue, whether your tears were of joy or of grief after the election, remember that we are supposed to be family. That’s always been a big part of our shared heritage—both national and religious. So, if I may be allowed to be preachy (it is part of my job, after all), let’s treat one another as the family we are.

Love,

I wish this were a personal visit instead of a written greeting, but let this note with its brief update suffice until we do meet again. 

Any honest update from me would have to deal with the challenges of getting old, but you’ve heard all this from guys like me before. Maybe you’re even going through it yourself. If so, you know that becoming an old-timer does take a bit of adjustment. Not only to the aches and pains in the joints, but other things are just as bothersome: