Several people who have read A Gift Most Rare have asked: what is the Gift?

Well, A Gift Most Rare is a Christmas story – and for me, Christmas is all about redemption.

…so that’s the gift – redemption.  Redemption for our mortal souls through the arrival of the Messiah…and redemption for the lives we’re living in this world through the indwelling presence of The Holy Spirit. 

I understand and agree that there are a lot of other aspects we rightly love about Christmas:  lights, eggnog, gatherings, carols, gift-giving, Christmas movies and much more.  

…but remember, the term “Christ” comes from the Greek word Khrīstos, a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means "anointed."

The second part of Christmas - maesse - is a version of the Latin word missa, the celebration of the 

Eucharist tradition of eating bread and drinking wine in memory of Jesus.

So Christmas is about redemption and that is the central theme I tried to work with in varying degrees throughout A Gift Most Rare.