Christmas Is Waiting to be Born by Howard Thurman

Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes
And the heart consumes itself as if it would live,
Where children age before their time
And life wears down the edges of the mind,
Where the old man sits with mind grown cold,
While bones and sinew, blood and cell, go slowly down to death,
Where fear companions each day’s life,
And Perfect Love seems long delayed.
CHRISTMAS IS WAITING TO BE BORN:
In you, in me, in all humankind.

Despite all the darkness in our world, the light of God’s presence is made known and Christmas is being born and coming to life in very real and significant ways.

Today is the Feast of the Holy Family. In today’s second reading from the 1stletter of John we hear: Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. And so we are.

And so we are…It seems at every corner, God’s light shines forth in the form of an angel. A few days ago I had to get a father and his young daughter who are from Guatemala to the airport early; their family in Massachusetts had bought them a plane ticket. Because I had to get back to take other people to the bus station I wasn't able to take them through to their gate. So God sent a beautiful man whose name was Arturo.He was accompanying another refugee family and he offered to take my family through to their gate.

Each family comes with such anticipation and fear so having someone there to help accompany them on their first flight or to the bus station gives a sense of peace which is often not available to them.  When I transport someone I give them one of our SSJ prayer Cards and tell them, “I will be praying for you for a safe trip with a warm welcome to you new home and may God bless you every day.”

Earlier this week I took a family to the Greyhound station. There I encountered Mike & Hector who had set a up a stand t o give migrants warm tamales, bottled water, granola bars, fruit and a blanket for their travels. Mike runs the nearby Rock Café & Gallery; another angel responding to the refugees needs.

Mike & Hector at the Greyhound Station

On Friday we only had cold 2 day old pizza and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches to serve the refugees for lunch. When I had gotten home I told about this experience to the Sisters of Charity I am staying with. In a heart beat they went to work to make homemade beans in 4 crock pots and a large pot of rice; they even went out to buy freshly made tortillas. They wanted us to be able to offer the refugees a warm, and familiar meal. Everyone was so happy and ate as if it was their first meal in heaven!

Beans & rice ready to go...

Yesterday a young mom and her family arrived just before noon with food to serve about 150 people. We had already received food for lunch so I was going to direct her to another shelter site. Then suddenly I looked up from talking with her and realized that about 60 refugees had silently entered the hotel. The usual time of refugees coming was usually around 4pm but with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was coming to see the detention centers and it was suspected that I.C.E. was trying to empty them before her arrival, hence he early arrival. I immediately told the Mom, Erin and husband Dan, “God sent you right now to feed all these people because we would not had food enough for them and the refugees we already had.” 

Erin, Ray, Catherine & Dan

I welcomed them, told them to sit down and that they would be receiving a wonderful meal, at which they began to clap! I found out that they were each given a cold burrito twice a day and that they had not eaten anything yet that day. Many of the refugees gave me their I.C.E. issued blankets which looks like aluminum foil, only it doesn’t tear, and they would cover themselves, including the children, while sleeping on the floors of the detention center which are very cold.

Yesterday one of the families had to be taken to the airport at night for an early morning flight. Due to some ticketing issues they weren’t able to board and ended up spending the night and morning in the airport. We received word of their plight and went to pick them up at the airport to bring them back to the hotel The Mom decided to stay at the airport for another night because luckily they were able to get a new ticket for an early flight tomorrow. Meanwhile… a passenger had noticed their situation and had brought them breakfast and another passenger later in the day saw them and bought them lunch and then went on to remove her coat, gloves and socks to give to the mother! What angels!

One last story of God’s angels bringing Christmas to birth… Today’s lunch of Popeye’s chicken, rice & beans came to us compliments of the wives of the Stanford football coaches who will be playing in the Sun Bowl here in El Paso on New Year’s day. The coaches were at practice but the wives and children came with the food and rolled up sleeves to serve our guests. Before leaving some of the women what else we might need… “underwear, socks, hate & gloves”, I said. Within an hour they were back with bags of these items.

Wives of the Stanford coaches with Srs. Cecelia & Andrea

Christmas was born in so many little mangers these last days dispelling the gloom and darkness that can so overwhelm us. We must keep our eyes and hearts open to see these little births and to meet the angels God is sending us everyday, even in the families of the  Stanford coaching staff. Go Cardinals!