Faith’s message is too often lost

It was the night before Christmas and all through the church, many creatures were stirring . . . especially the restless children.

The little ones found it hard to concentrate on the present, instead letting their minds wander to the presents the next morning would bring.

Our parish priest gathered the children around the altar at homily time to relay the real meaning of Christmas, to try in his solicitous way to reconcile the birth of Jesus with the great promise of gifts that usually preoccupy kids at Christmastime.

He told them about St. Nicholas, the holy bishop of Myra, from whose penchant for generosity and gift-giving is derived the modern-day Santa Claus. Fr. Frank told his young charges how the bishop was arrested and severely tortured by a pagan ruler. As Jesus Christ strengthened and protected St. Nicholas, his adversary tired of torturing Nicholas and threw him into prison.