Preparing for the Birth of Jesus

Holy Infant Parish in Orange is using a Jesse Tree to focus spiritually on the meaning of Christmas.

Story by Joe Pisani

Father Norman Brockett wanted to prepare members of Holy Infant Parish in Orange for Christmas instead of just looking for gifts on Amazon or walking from store to store at the mall.

He returned to the Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree, which dates back to the Middle Ages and was inspired by the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” Jesse was the father of King David, from whose line Jesus was born, and he represents the branch that God said would sprout from Jesse’s family tree.

The tree, which was been depicted throughout history in stained glass, mosaics and paintings is a pictorial genealogy from the dawn of creation with Adam and Eve to the nativity, and ornaments are used to represent people and events from the Old Testament. It originally was a way to show illiterate people how God guided humanity until the birth of the Messiah.

For the four weeks of Advent during the 4 p.m. Vigil Mass, children were invited to place ornaments on the tree in Holy Infant Church. This activity will continue again this Sat., Dec. 18.

“This lets us teach the kids and families in the parish about the Jesse Tree and God’s work, which starts from way back at creation, and goes through Adam and Eve and all the different people and events throughout history and the Scriptures, until we come to the birth of Christ,” Father Brockett says. “It illustrates how each and every one of them played an important part in our faith.”

Father Brockett also encourages the parish to read the Bible passages that highlight those historical moments more than 4,000 years. Each branch on the tree represents a sign of newness in the long wait for the Messiah. The Scripture readings start at creation, with Adam and Eve, and move through the flood and Noah, the promises to Abraham, Joseph and Moses, the Exodus, the revelation at Mount Sinai, through Joshua and other Jewish leaders, King David, the prophets and John the Baptist, right up to Mary and the annunciation, visitation and the birth of Jesus.

On the second Sunday of Advent, three children of the Ejlli family placed their ornaments on the tree — Kiara, 5, and twins Emma 10, and Elvin, 10. Kiara says that she was excited to be selected, and Emma says they had learned about the Jesse Tree in her Faith Formation class. 

Their mother Terezina, who was joined by her husband Fred, says, “This is the best time of year for us because we celebrate the birth of Jesus, which is so important to our lives. We can all gather together as a family for Christmas.”

Father Brockett greeted the parishioners as they come into church and handed out the ornaments. At the start of Mass, they placed them on the tree.

“Some of the kids from Faith Formation were called upon, and they really enjoyed coming forward and being a part of this,” the priest adds. “It gives people in the parish an opportunity to prepare for Christmas in a different way. We’re trying to get away from just thinking about ‘what I want for Christmas’ and instead focus spiritually on what Christmas means.”