6 December. St Nicholas.  On the last day of school at their assembly young Nick had been given a task to speak about St Nicholas, the original Santa Claus, who had been a bishop in the very early days of the church.  He said, “The story is told that he was particularly generous, especially with the poor, giving them food and clothing.   How this all became commercialised into giving expensive presents to one another is not clear, but our class decided to collect food and clothes for the homeless people who live in the veldt near our school.  The principal arranged for us to meet with some of them and they told us a lot about their life and how they were separated from their families because of poverty.  We felt pleased to help a little.  And I told my folks I really don’t want an expensive present this year.”    

Scripture: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ”Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?” I answered, “here I am, send me.” Isaiah 6:1-8.   Pope Francis: Message for the eighth World Day of the Poor 2024 theme is: “The prayer of the poor rises up to God. ”Referring to the book of Sirach Pope Francis stated, “As a father, he takes care of those who are most in need: the poor, the marginalised, the suffering and the forgotten. No one is excluded from His heart, for in His eyes, we are all poor and needy”. He reminds all the faithful that God sees and cares for each one of them, whereas those who seek wealth, to the detriment of the most needy, are poor in His eyes.  Reflect, share, and pray:   This Christmas season year what can we do as individuals and as a family to help the poor in some way, whether we are well-off  ourselves or not?