AWAITING CHRISTMAS

Greetings blog reader. It is just a week until Christmas Day. I do not know about you, but I can hardly wait for that day to arrive. I may be reverting to my long-ago childhood, but did we ever need Christmas more? This has been the year from Hell. We need the arrival of the Divine Presence now more than ever, at least in out lifetimes. So, I say, hurry Christmas, hurry the arrival of the new light. 

Many blog readers noticed I did not make a posting last Monday as I usually do. I had just learned that my 81-year-old brother in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, had contracted the coronavirus. That means his wife, along with my sister, probably have gotten the virus, or will get it. Right now, he is at home taking OTC meds. It is a good thing he has a relatively mild case, at least so far, because there is not one ICU bed left in the entire state of Mississippi. That state has been overwhelmed. It seemed that all the heaviness of the year fell in on me at once and I did not have the heart to write anything on the computer last Monday. 

Perhaps you too have family members and friends who have acquired the virus. The plague is spreading rapidly and people are falling sick all around us. It is hard to keep up a good spirit in this seemingly ever darkening night.

We must not, will not, let the night vanquish us. One way we can keep our heads above water is to relish the small acts of kindness that we can do for each other. Let me share with you a few recent examples that will lift your spirits as they did mine.

For 25 years, my local parish has provided a free Thanksgiving Day meal for the community. It started out small and has turned into a major event, especially for a small church. In spite of the pandemic, this year the parish went all out and served a record-breaking 675 meals. And this year, we had only pick-up and home delivered meals. We packed in extra food for people to use for days. 

Another act of kindness. My good friend from childhood lives in downtown Chicago, near Lincoln Park. A few years ago, he was hit by a truck while crossing the street and ever since has struggled to get around. He has to have a walker to go anywhere. Well, on the day before Thanksgiving he was crossing the street and out of the blue a woman he had never seen appeared at his side to help him across. On the other side they struck up a conversation about what they were going to do on the next day, Thanksgiving. He told her he had hoped to go to his favorite restaurant a few blocks away but would not do so this year. The woman immediately said she would go to the restaurant, pick up and pay for his favorite meal, and deliver it to him on tomorrow, Thanksgiving. She did. At noon she appeared at the door, tote bag in hand. My friend was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. A person he had never seen spent her Thanksgiving Day going to great lengths to see to it that he had a good day. Many people would say things like this just do not happen in big cities but they would be wrong.

Another act of kindness. Once a month my local parish has a "Beans and Rice" day to distribute free beans and rice to anyone who wants them, no questions asked. You might be surprised at the number of people who arrive to collect just these basic staples. We have a local food pantry in town but it screens its patrons. Our local Daughters of the King chapter decided to make December's Beans and Rice day a free food day. And so, they found enough money to buy bags and bags of food to hand out to anyone who arrived to collect the beans and rice. My wife, Sandy, was the driving force behind this project, I am proud to say. The Daughters prepared hundreds of bags which they handed out to the surprised and delighted patrons on this months's Beans and Rice Day.

St. Luke's parish house, Jacksonville AL. Sandy Caldwell looks over the room full of bags of food assembled by the DOK for distribution on Beans and Rice Day, Dec. 12.

And finally, I like to go back to my favorite Advent hymn, "Lo he comes with clouds descending." This is one of the most beautiful hymns in the hymnal and I always look forward to it at this time of the year. We need it now more than ever. My favorite rendition is the one by Richard Jensen on Youtube. There are many other versions available on Youtube. Any one will do. I invite you to listen to one of them today.

So, it is with little flickers of light that we banish the darkness of the night in which we find ourselves. We are here for the living of this hour, as hard as it may be. Peace.