Collecting For A Cause

Yesterday, after the Mass, I was catching up with an 8 year old in my Parish. Kids are really excited about Christmas these days. What with the preparations for the crib and carol singing and various images of the Santa and the Christmas Trees around, the Christmas fervor is bound to be in the air.

So this little girl told me that she was collecting chocolates for Christmas. “So that you could eat it all on Christmas?”, I asked her. “No”, she exclaimed. She says she wants to collect lots of chocolates by Christmas, and then she wants to share it with others on Christmas. Her list included her baby sister, her friends, her cousins and – this one moved me the most – those people sitting outside the Church gate (as in the poor beggars sitting outside the Church asking for alms, although she did not use the words ‘beggars’ or ‘poor’ or ‘alms’).

This little child appears to be one of the wisest and spiritually enlightened people I have met – someone who has imbibed the true meaning and message of Christmas…of sharing and love and charity. What greater example can we have for the Christian values of love for neighbor and charity, than from this innocent little girl who can hardly fathom the meaning of those words?

I can only thank God for filling my life with treasures such as these.