The Holy Puffin

Embracing the Wonder of the Unexpected this Christmas

A few weeks ago, my daughter came bursting in from her Faith Formation class brandishing a coloring sheet and proudly proclaimed, “I colored the Holy Puffin!” After hugging her and congratulating her on a beautiful job of crayon work, I looked closer at the sheet and found, much to my amusement, that it was a picture of a dove representing the Holy Spirit. I burst into laughter and hugged her even tighter. My mind immediately conjured images of a puffin descending in the Middle East and the giggles continued.

Shortly after this, dear friends of ours gifted both of my daughters beautiful, cozy pajamas with, you guessed it, the dove and olive branch. My girls joyfully yelled “Holy Puffin PJs!” and gleefully wore them to school on pajama day. The teachers and I laughed together about the holy puffin and fun was had by all. The Holy Puffin has become a dear anecdote for our family and one that I’ll treasure for years.

Being the type of person who likes to turn ideas around in my head probably more than strictly necessary, the question of why the holy puffin inspired such laughter niggled at my brain. I concluded that it had to do with the completely unexpected nature of the combination. Puffins are not a holy bird. They are a rather comical looking fowl and seem to have no biblical connection. Our minds, so used to the traditional images and connotations, find the surprising attribution of “holy” as comical.

Yet isn’t that unforeseen attribution of the holy exactly what the first Christmas represents? A virgin mother giving birth to a king in the poverty of a barn, a prophesied conqueror coming to earth as a helpless baby, God becoming flesh – the incarnation is all about upended expectations.

At this time of the holiday season, I find myself measuring my Christmas by checked boxes: how often have we remembered to light the advent candles? Have we baked and decorated cookies? Seen the big guy in red? At this time of year traditions take on an even greater importance than usual.

I am so accustomed to the nativity story - the stable, the shepherds, the Christ child - that it has become another deeply ingrained, familiar piece of Christmas. But when we explain it to our young daughters, we see their eyes fill with wonder. “Why wouldn’t someone give up their room?” and “Baby Jesus in the barn? With baby animals?” are just a few of the questions shouted at us by two very inquisitive little ladies. Perhaps this story requires more than my calm retelling; maybe I too should be nearly outraged at the Holy Family’s treatment. Perhaps I need the reminder that this story was, and is, shocking.

It’s all too easy to nod along to the advent readings, sing about the baby laying his head in a manger, and then hustle onto the next item on the checklist of Christmas traditions and to-dos. I am fully guilty of doing so. But this Christmas, I hope to return to that wonder of my daughters. Marveling at the fact God became a baby, in awe of Mary’s willingness to become the mother of God as a young, unwed woman, appreciating the faith and devotion of Joseph, and seeing the nativity story for the unexpected marvel that it is. After all, if a holy puffin inspires giggles, how much more joy and gratitude should burst from me at the thought of my God and Savior come down to earth as a wee babe in a barn.

May your Christmas be filled with wonder at the unexpected, undeserved, but wholly marvelous gift of Christ’s coming.

Recommendations

I have been loving Jesuits.org ‘Finding God in the Christmas Prep’ series this Advent. My personal favorite, with an admission of some bias, is Catherine Sullivan’s piece on Christmas Cookies. You can read these reflections online or sign up for the emails. Keep an eye out because yours truly has one coming out soon on Family Gatherings.

Grotto Network recently unveiled their new website and it is a stunner! They create such beautiful work in writing, podcasts, and film; this new format highlights each so well. I was enormously flattered to be listed as a featured creator in the writing category and look so forward to their upcoming edition on Seeing God.

While I have mentioned it before, the gorgeous book The Modern Saints is now in my possession and I could not be more impressed. A thought provoking and gorgeous book, it combines reflections from some of my favorite authors with Gracie Morbitzer’s beautiful illustrations of the saints as modern-day people.

Finally, I have had two pieces come out within the past month. Both reflect on aspects of my Native American heritage, and I am grateful to Jesuits.org and Grotto Network for publishing these and giving them a home. The first is Grappling with my Catholic Faith and Native Identity this Thanksgiving and focuses on Nicholas Black Elk’s important work. And the other is Love in the Making: Frybread, which will not only provide you with a recipe but also the story of what frybread means to me.

Last but not least, if you’ve been wondering where you can find all my writing in one place, look no further: I have a website! You can find each of my published pieces under the “Portfolio” tab, but all of my Substack pieces will remain accessible here.

Thank you each for your time and care! Merry Christmas!

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