Twilight Twitches

Dear Family,
The name of the feast challenges us if we were to think of the Lord as some great earthly potentate. This potentate reigns over hearts!

Listen to the words of Pope Pius XI when he established the feast on December 11, 1925, the end of the special Holy Year he had called. The language is sort of 'churchy' but there can be no mistaking the fact that Pius' underlying concern was the fate of the world as the likes of Hitler and Mussolini were com-ing onto the world's stage. What could with-stand that?

Dear Family,
On Thursday, once again we celebrate the national Day of Thanks. The history of the event is worth a trip to Wikipedia if you're a history buff. From the Pilgrims in 1621, through various shapes and sizes over time, the day worked its way into our national culture. You wouldn't think there would be so much discussion surrounding a celebration we all take for granted.

I read in one place that the head of Federated Stores (Macy's among others) urged President Franklin Roosevelt to push the date a little earlier so the Christmas shopping season could start sooner. It used to be that it was in poor taste to start the Christmas selling before Thanksgiving. Imagine that. I saw Christmas stuff out this year before Halloween. It certainly begs the questions, "Thanks to whom?" and, "For what?"

Dear Family,
One hundred years ago today, World War I ended with the Armistice (literally, "stopping arms.") In 1938 it became a formal holiday and in 1954 President Eisenhower signed the bill to make it Veterans Day, a day to honor all who have served in the military. (Memorial Day honors those who died, and Armed Forces Day in May honors those currently serving.)

I spent (probably too much) time reading the history of not only the day but of the personalities and the accounts of so many of the battles and wars since 1918. Many of us have lived through so much of it all. I was born four months before Pearl Harbor and as I've told you before, one of my early memories is the uproar of Bayonne refinery sirens from New Jersey and boat horns from the Kill Van Kull and cars and trains rolling past me as I stood on my grandmother's front lawn watching it all. It was V-J day.

Dear Family,

Neighbor, someone who is a 'near-dweller.' SO, the question of the day might be, "Who is my near-dweller?" As I thought about it, it seems like that means anybody, from my great pastoral assistant to the person I find myself standing next to when I'm checking out of Publix. It seems they all qualify; folks who are near.

It's one thing to be nice to Annie. Even then, I can be oblivious to her presence, because sometimes it's so easy to take your closest friends and co-workers for granted. That's the danger of being around someone so much you run the risk of not seeing them.