Today, the Church remembers and give thanks for St. Nicholas.
Before being merged with a north European pre-Christian deity and turned into Santa Claus, St. Nicholas was a real man who lived in Asia Minor in the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. Nicholas suffered terribly during the last official persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire, yet never abandoned his faith. He became known for his many acts of generosity...a radical Christian generosity which led him to give away his great inherited wealth.
Eventually he was chosen to be a priest and bishop of the small Christian community in Myra because of his faithfulness and endurance during the deadly persecution and for the witness of his astonishing humility and charity in giving away his wealth to save others from slavery and starvation.
We thank God for the living witness of St. Nicholas, who shows us that a life of faith, humility, and compassion is possible and so very needed in our human family.
