From the Rector

Dear Mazenod Family,

On behalf of the Oblate Community, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and hope that it is a time of great family life and renewal.

It has indeed been a year of many blessings and many Moments of Grace and I hope that these continue long into the future. I have just included a little Christmas story that you might find useful in keeping Christ at the very heart of Christmas and can help you enjoy it even more.

The Candy Cane Story

Early European Christians made special decorations for their Christmas trees from foods like cookies and sugar-stick candy. The first historical reference to the cane shape goes back to 1670, when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany bent the sugar-sticks into canes to represent a shepherd’s staff.

About fifty years later, the first red-and-white striped candy canes appeared. No one knows who invented the stripes, but Christmas cards prior to 1900 showed only all-white candy canes. Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of striped candy canes.

The candy cane incorporates several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ. White to symbolize the virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and the hard candy to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The shape of a J represents the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Saviour. It could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd.

The three small red stripes show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe is for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we can have the promise of eternal life.

Take Care, God Bless and Merry Christmas

Fr Michael and the OMI Community

Fr Michael Twigg OMI

Rector of Mazenod College