When you hold a banquet, invite the poor …

When you hold a banquet, invite the poor,
        the crippled, the blind.  Luke 14:13

As a tennis fan, I admired the Brazilian star Gustavo Kuerten, who spent some time as the number one player in the world in the late 1990s.  Along with his tremendous talent, he always used to have a huge smile on his face regardless of the score.  He looked as if he really enjoyed the game, the crowds, the excitement.  During his playing years, he was widely regarded as one of the most sportsmanlike in the game.

At the peak of his career, I read about his habit of traveling with his severely disabled brother.  Gustavo would regularly take him to all the fancy parties and banquets on the tennis circuit.  It must have been a study on contrasts seeing this young man in a wheelchair making his way through a room full of tanned and toned world-class athletes. If Gustavo did not sensitize people towards acceptance of the disabled, he surely impressed them with his fraternal devotion.

Dear Lord, may I always reserve a place at my table for the needy.

— Paul Pennick

Message of Christmas Love

There is an old Christian tradition that God sends each person into this world
        with a special message to deliver,
        with a special song to sing for others,
        with a special act of love to bestow.
    no one else can speak my message,  
        or sing my song,
        or offer my act of love.
    These are entrusted only to me.

According to this tradition, the message may be spoken, the song sung, the act of love delivered
        only to a few,
        or to all the folk in a small town,
        or to all the people in a large city,
        or even to all the people in the whole world.
    It all depends on God's unique plan for each person.

At this holy time of Christmas, when we are recalling the fact that God so loved the world
that He sent his Son into the world for us, I want to say this to you:
        Your message has been heard in my heart,
        Your song has warmed my world,
        And your love has brightened my darkness.
Thank you, thank you for your message, your song, your love.
You will always be in my own grateful heart and prayers.

— St. Vincent de Paul

(A Christmas message sent to his friends.)