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From the Pastor’s Desk
Today, while being the Second Sunday of Advent, is also the feast of Saint Nicholas. In Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, this day is filled with customs that help families get ready for the coming of the Christmas festivities. On the night before December 6 as they went to bed, children placed their shoes outside their bedrooms and Saint Nicholas would leave treats in them, especially if the children had been good. For some, this is also the day that the Crèche scene would begin to be displayed in that family home, but without the figure of the Baby Jesus.
Saint Nicholas was the fourth century bishop of the town of Myra which is on the southern coast in modern day Turkey. Even before chosen as bishop, Nicholas was known for his holiness and kindness, especially to the poor. He is said to have tossed three bags of gold coins into the window of a family whose father had no money to use for his three daughters. He is on the list of bishops who attended the famous Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.).
Nicholas, of course, lives on in the person of Santa Claus, but he’s known by other names, depending on where you are from: Father Christmas, Sinterklaas, Père Noël, Weihnachtsmann, Babbo Natale and Święty Mikołaj just to give a few. Remembering and celebrating Saint Nicholas in Advent can be helpful to parents who want to form their children in the Catholic-Christian faith. For in recalling what Nicholas did, we must also remind others of why he lived this way; it was because of his belief in the goodness of Jesus.
Love,
Fr. Tom