6th December

The story of St. Nicholas, the bishop of Myra in Minor Asia, dates to the fourth century. Legend has it that he, secretly, went around his town giving gifts to the poor. In European culture, this is the favourite holiday of all children – it’s a gift-giving day. When evening comes, St. Nicholas, a reverend grey-haired figure with flowing beard, wearing gorgeous bishop’s garments, gold embroidered cope, mitre, and pastoral staff, knocks on doors and asks about the behaviour of the children. The custom of examining the children, where they will cite a verse, sing, or otherwise show their skills, is still widespread in German-speaking countries. Each little one gets a gift for his performance.

In our gospel today, we have Matthew’s account of the Feeding of the 5000—a miracle so important in the mind of the early Church that it is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. St Nicholas shared the compassion and care of Jesus in reaching out and sharing what he had with others. It is crucial that, as a Christian family, we continue to reach out and feed those in need. It could be thousands of miles away, or it could mean supporting your local food bank in these difficult economic times. The miracle shows the generosity of God and our need to share that with those we meet today.

Today: Try to support your local food bank—even one tin of beans could make a real difference!