The Humility of the Poinsettia

The Humility of the Poinsettia

You might be asking yourself, "How does a Poinsettia connect with our District theme of Walk Humbly with God?"

There is an old Mexican legend about how Poinsettias, Christmas and humility come together; it goes like this:

There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked to the chapel, sadly, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.
'Pepita', he said "I'm sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus Happy."

Pepita didn't know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus. As she walked through the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night'. 

In this simple story, we see how Pepita learned that it wasn't the size of the gift, but the intention that mattered more. It was about 'giving with humility,' which has been our focus at St. Dominic School this year. The humble plant, the Poinsettia, stands as a symbol of giving at this time of year and even looks like the Star of Bethlehem, which lead the Wise Men to our humble baby Jesus.

If we look at the birth of Christ, there is no greater example of humble beginnings, as Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger amongst animals. The Shepherds that came did not bring gifts, as they simply focused on paying Him homage. In spite of all this, there is no greater story of honour than this one, which shows us that we do not need to be in a spotlight to make an impact in the world. 

The generosity of our St. Dominic families is overwhelming and I have been witness to a community that 'gives with humility' quite willingly. Here are the few things we have focused on this Christmas season:

• Filling socks with necessities for those in need of support and donating at our Advent Mass.
• The anonymous giving of gifts for families in our own school community through our Virtual Wish List. The gifts have been placed under our Angel Tree in the front foyer and will be distributed on December 16th. 
•  The money raised form our POP (People of Peace) Bake Sale, which will go towards building a school in a third world country, through Free the Children.

In these hectic and oft over commercialized times, we lose sight of the true meaning behind Christmas....of putting the 'Christ' in Christmas. 

During this holiday season, please take some time to remember our Faith's humble beginnings, with a child that would be our Saviour. Remember the humility of the Poinsettia, and how the simplest of gifts or actions can mean the most or have the greatest impact on others.

Merry Christmas to all of our St. Dominic families!