By Monsignor Fred Nijem, Special to The Telegraph, posted on December 5, 2009

You often see the following verses by an unknown author on Christmas cards: "If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things, if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us there is a desert to travel, a star to discover and a being within ourselves to bring to life."

When I first saw these verses years ago, I was struck by how deeply they captured the challenge and opportunity of this holy season. Certainly like King Herod, we are in danger of being swamped by lists, clutter and things in this holy season - things that shine bright on Christmas morning but soon, within a few days, lose their luster.

What really matters in this holy season? We know from the Gospels that all the things Herod owned and built merited him the title "Great." But these same things did not make Herod any less insecure, jealous and conniving. Were those things really worth it?

Curiously, the author of the verses links a sense of unimportance with continual action. 'Tis the season to shop till you drop. 'Tis the season to become frantic with last-minute details. 'Tis the season to get trampled at your local department store. Maybe if we could stop the continual action, we would have time to look inside our hearts and see what is there. Am I important enough to be God's dwelling place? What really matters in this holy season?

The Magi followed the star. Or was it really something within each of them that they were following? A hunger, a need, something missing that even an action-filled life could not satisfy? These wise men were drawn to someone who could only be found through a long and determined journey. They listened to their hearts, they consulted God's word. And at journey's end, their lives were changed forever. What really matters in this holy season?

Shepherds are not those who either have a lot of things or are filled with non-stop action. Shepherds are those who watch, and watch and watch some more. They mainly watch their flocks, but they can also look to the heavens and watch the stars.

It is when we take time to watch and listen and be still that we can catch the voice of angels singing. What do they sing? "Glory to God in the highest and peace to all of good will. Go and you will find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

What did the shepherds find? A mother and child. Birth! Life! Hope for the world. They were able to go and see because they did not have a lot of baggage weighing them down. Shepherds are the poorest of the poor. They have a full agenda that prevented them from keeping watch over their flocks at night and hearing the angels sing.

Luke tells us that Mary treasured all these and pondered them in her heart. The Magi, the shepherds, the angels' voices, all these wondrous events that marked the birth of this child. This same child whom Simeon had foretold would mark the rise and fall of many in Israel. Who would this child be? He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. Mary indeed broods and ponders and prays and treasures, as does any mother, all these things in her heart.

In this holy season, and for the rest of our lives, there is a desert to travel, a star to discover. Indeed my life seems like a desert sometimes - empty, foreboding, dry. But I have been placed here to search for the truth. I have been given the opportunity to journey, not alone but with fellow believers, in search of him of who is forever the light of the world. Nothing less than him will do.

When I find Christ, I will find myself. When I find him whom my heart longs for, then I will find the reason for my journey, my watching, my brooding. In this holy season, we are reminded again of why we must leave all things and follow him.

Father Fred Nijem is the priest and pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Warner Robins.