麻豆传媒AV

"I wish it could be Christmas everyday" sang the British rock band Wizzard forty years ago. More recently Kenny Rogers sang, "Keep the spirit in your heart / And it's Christmas everyday".

In her song "Diamond in My Hand" Molly Johnson says, "I have found a jewel in this rocky land / Held it in my hand and turned it all around." Perhaps the diamond is an adequate metaphor for the gift of Nelson Mandela to our world.

I admit that my attention was somewhat divided in the early part of this morning's church service.

Everyone loves a Christmas story. We know the main ingredients: a woman, a child and a miracle of joy. The following is a true story: It was Christmas Eve when a man entered the blue door of Madonna House. He was thin, hunched over and very cold.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Really time goes so fast. Christmas Day is just a couple of days ahead.

Heading into yet another year I'm still faced with the same dilemma: what do I give Him? Christmas is over but the question lingers. I was awed by the offerings of Magi; the opulence and timeliness of their gifts is beyond my ability to give.

In spite of budgetary constraints and all conventional wisdom, a local resident known only as Mary recently spent her entire budget on just one gift. Not only that, she ended up dumping it.

True story: A Red Army interdict in 1917 declared, Anyone found worshipping God in any church can be shot on sight or arrested. Every morning people would slink from shadowy doorway to shadowy doorway, furtively sneaking to daily Mass, to church.

One of our church ladies said, "Christmas comes once a year!" Yes, that is true! The Christmas season comes only one time per year, not twice or three times like holidays or times of greetings may.

As reported in the first edition of Christ's News publication, Jesus, son of Mary and step-son of Nazareth-based carpenter Joseph, began receiving unusual gifts just weeks after He was born.