From our hands to His Heart

I have a list of folks I know,
all written in a book.
And every year when Christmas comes,
I go and take a look.

And that is when I realize
that these names are a part
Not of the book they are written in,
but really of my heart.

For each name stands for someone
who has crossed my path sometime,
And in the meeting they've become
the rhythm in each rhyme.

And while it sounds fantastic
for me to make this claim,
I really feel that I'm composed
of each remembered name.

And while you may not be aware
of any special link.
Just meeting you has changed my life
a lot more than you think.

For once I've met somebody,
the years cannot erase.
The memory of a pleasant word
or of a friendly face.

So never think my Christmas cards
are just a mere routine
Of names upon a Christmas list,
forgotten in between,
For when I send a Christmas card
that is addressed to you,
It is because you're on the list
that I'm indebted to.

For I am but a total
of the many folks I've met,
And you happen to be one of those
I prefer not to forget.

And whether I have known you
for many years or few,
In some ways you have a part
in shaping things I do.

And every year when Christmas comes,
I realize anew,
The best gifts life can offer
is meeting folks like you.

And may the spirit of Christmas
that forever endures
Leave its richest blessings
in the hearts of you and yours.

-- Author Unknown
(Therefore, I'll "borrow" those
as my own sentiments to you. -- Fr. Steve + )

All alone he sat, on the sidewalk cold,

Ragged coat, beaten hat,

stooped over, looking old.

He asked for spare change.

For a coffee and a smoke.

Of all the people walking by,

who thought him just a joke.

He was just another homeless guy,

another bum on the street.

On the street, he'll probably die,

right at the Christmas shoppers' feet.

It's the time of good will to men,

when, for all, we're supposed to care.

We hear that time and time again.

Why then was he still there?

On the dirty side of town?

Where does this man go?

On his sodden way down?

Nobody knows about his past.

Nobody knows his sad story.

Why has he gone down so fast?

All the way to ruin from glory.

I came upon him on the sidewalk,

and put five dollars in his hat.

Right about then, we began to talk,

I joined him where he sat.

"Do you have a smoke?"

he asked as I sat down.

Soon he was enjoying his smoke,

there on the dirty side of town.

He told me the story of his life,

about the trail of abuse and neglect.

How his "died" whe he lost his wife,

how his family he began to reject.

He finally hit rock bottom.

He had nowhere else to go.

Where the booze had finally got him.

What now? he didn't know.

I said, "I know how you feel,

helpless and alone."

"You need a bed and a hot meal,

and someplace to call home."

"I'll send you to a good friend

who will help you on your way.""

And the bus fare I will lend,

you go and see him today.""

He runs the South-Side Mission,

on the other side of town."

"You talk to him, he'll listen.

Get him to show you around."

I gave him the change for the bus,

and heartily shook his hand.

I thought, "he's the same as one of us,

throughout this great big land."

As I watched him go down the street,

I wondered, "will he come back?

Will we ever again meet?

on the better side of the tracks?"

I realized it was getting late.

I had to get to a Christmas party.

I hurried to make my appoints date,

for eggnog and turkey hearty.

As I hurried on through the snow,

I wondered to myself,

"where does all our compassion go?

Is it put upon the shelf?"

At this Christmas time of year,

Let us think of those
who are with us all the year.

The homeless, the hungry, the destitute,

who live on our streets each day,

Let us show them a better route,

where they can find their way.

It's Christmas time,

do you care?

Will you help another one?

Come on people, show you care.

Do what the Master would have done.

Just think, if that was you,

sitting on the sidewalk cold.

Wouldn't you want some help too?

Or would you rather die in the cold?

-- by Bonnie Briggs
(based on the Christmas song, "Pretty Paper")

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

STREET GUIDE LINES FOR PASTORAL ASSOCIATES -- as excerpted from our CONSTITUTION and CHARTER, "ENVISIONED HOPES" © 1982

• “Love your fellow Christians always. Do not neglect to show everyone hospitality -- for by that means some have entertained angels unawares.” (HEBREWS 13:1-2.)

• "Christianity is one beggar telling another where he found BREAD." (-- D. T. Niles)

• OUR MANDATE: “Is not this the fast I have chosen: to loosen the bonds of wickedness; to undo the bands of the yoke? Is it not to share your BREAD with the hungry, and to take the outcast poor into your home; to clothe those you see unclad, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word, if you give your BREAD to the hungry and relief to the oppressed, your light will rise in the darkness.” (ISAIAH 58:6-7, 10.)

• "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed Me; naked and you clothed Me; I was ill and you comforted Me; in prison and you came to visit Me.” (MATT. 25:35-36.)

• “Incline thine ear to a poor man without grieving and answer him with peaceable words in meekness.” (ECCLUS. 4:8.)

• “To thy good deeds add no blemish, and no grief of words in any of thy giving. Shall not the dew assuage the scorching heat? So is a word better than a gift. Lo, a word is better than a gift; and both are with a gracious man.” (ECCLUS. 18:15-17.)

• “Those who do not perceive God purely and simply as The ONE, injure not God, of course, but themselves and, along with themselves, their fellows.” (-- St. Philo of Alexandria)

• “Love sinners, but hate their works, and do not despise them for their faults, lest you be tempted by the same. Remember that you share the earthly nature of Adam and that you are clothed with his infirmity.” (-- St. Isaac the Syrian)

• “The soul advances not so much by thinking but by loving much.” (-- St. Theresa of the Child Jesus)

• “Be attentive, my child, that you not judge any soul. For God steps aside from the one who judges his neighbor, and he falls, in order to learn to have sympathy for his sick brother.” (-- Elder Ephraim of Philotheou on Mount Athos, "Counsels from the Holy Mountain")

• “The Church is not a hotel for saints -- it is a hospital for sinners.” (-- AOCC Metropolitan Abp. Thaddeus Condrick)

A New York City CHRISTmass Tradition

The 2004 NYC Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree between 49th and 50th Street on 5th Avenue -- all 9-tons of this Norway Spruce (from the home of Christine Gabrielibes & Demos Kontos in Suffern, Rockland County, NY) stands 71-foot tall, 40-foot wide and is lit with 30,000 (or five miles) of lights and a 9 1/2-foot diameter Swarovski-designed star adorned by 25,000 crystals.

In another biased attempt to de-Christianize Christmas and redefine our nation's religious heritage, the politically correct NYC "RINO" mayor, Michael Rubens Bloomberg, calls this a "holiday tree". NO, SIR, we don't need any secular modernist Jewish tycoon worth $5 billion to define this Christian religious tradition for us (this NYC one since 1933)! It is in fact our CHRISTmass tree. So hammer instead on the golden statue of Prometheus (the Greek god who according to myth gave fire to humans) which stands in front of it.

Downtown they've put up Christmas lights,

and decked the streets with tinsel bright.

The windows of each store you see

contain at least one "holiday" tree.

In shopping centers everywhere,

Christmas carols fill the air.

And Santa's broad and merry face

is seen in almost every place.

From all these signs, one thing is clear,

Thanksgiving Day was drawing near!

'T'was the night before Christmas
and all through the town
Not a sign of Baby Jesus
was anywhere to be found.

The people
were all busy
with Christmas time chores
Like decorating, and baking,
and shopping in stores.

No one sang "Away in a manger,
no crib for a bed".
Instead, they sang of Santa
dressed-up in bright red.

Mama watched Martha Stewart,
Papa drank beer from a tap.
As hour upon hour
the presents they'd wrap.

When what from the T.V.
did they suddenly hear?
'Cept an ad.. which told
of a big sale at Sears.

So away to the mall
they all flew like a flash...
Buying things on credit...
and others with cash!

And, as they made their way home
From their trip to the mall,
Did they think about Jesus?
Oh, no... not at all.

Their lives were so busy
with their Christmas time things
No time to remember
Christ Jesus, The King.

There were presents to wrap
and cookies to bake.
How could they stop and remember
Who died for their sake?

To pray to The Savior...
they had no time to stop.
Because they needed more time
to "Shop til they dropped!"

On Wal-mart! On K-mart!
On Target! On Penney's!
On Hallmark! On Zales!
A quick lunch at Denny's.

From the big stores downtown
to the stores at the mall
They would dash away, dash away,
and visit them all!

And up on the roof,
there arose such a clatter
As grandpa hung icicle lights
up on his brand new step ladder.

He hung lights that would flash.
He hung lights that would twirl.
Yet, he never once
prayed to Jesus...
Light of the World.

Christ's eyes... how they twinkle!
Christ's Spirit... how merry!
Christ's love... how enormous!
All our burdens... He'll carry!

So instead of being busy,
overworked, and uptight
Let's put Christ back in Christmas
and enjoy some good nights!

(Rev. Jon Prain,
The Federated Church,
Avon, Illinois)

It is the worst of times. It is the best of times. The Christmas you have depends upon you. May you be blessed to follow the Light and choose the right.

A Christmas Poem

C = is for Credit Cards that make buying a breeze.

H = is for your Headache when your cards are seized.

R = is for Remembering everyone on your list.

I = is for feeling Insulted when your gifts are dissed.

S = is for feeling Stressed when you're on the fly.

T= is for the Truckloads of presents that you buy.

M = is for your Massive debt that soars into the sky.

A= is for the Awful feeling that you've gone astray.

S = is for your Sorrow and the tears you'll shed today.

The True Christmas Poem

C - is for the Christ child lying in a manager.

H - is for the Holy One Who saved us all from danger.

R - is to Remember Him Who died that we may live.

I - is to Inspire us that we may always give.

S - is for joyful Songs and sacred hymns that praise.

T - is to Thank the Lord for showing us the way.

M - is for the Miracles that bless us each day.

A - is for the Almighty Who always puts us first.

S - is for the Shepherd Who guides us on earth.