Dear St. Nicholas,
Hi! How are you? I’m doing well, busy though, and very tired.
I don’t know if you have been keeping tabs on me that much. I mean, I know what the songs say and all, but I also know that you’ve got to keep track of everyone in the world, which by the way, is a very big job. After traveling a good portion of the world this year, I appreciate a little more what you are required to do, and I’m also very curious how you make it across the world in a single night? I’ve had a hard time doing it in a whole year!
Yeah… that’s my story. I’ve been traveling, doing a pilgrimage actually. My goal this year was to visit three hundred and sixty five churches in one year over the whole world. I’m almost done, but I’m still in Mexico, which is why this letter is being sent to you through this blog. I know you are probably looking for it at one of my addresses in the United States, but I’m not there, so this is the best I can do.
Oh. Other people are going to be reading this, so I should explain something to them that they don’t know. You (St. Nicholas) have always had the tradition with my family of coming by our house on your feast day (today, December 6) to collect our Christmas wish lists. You’ve always left notes saying that it helps you in deciding what you should bring us on Christmas Day. Do you do that with other families as well? If not, some of the families who read this might get jealous. Sorry about that.
By the way, which to you prefer to go by? Saint Nicholas or Santa Clause? No big deal. Just wanted to know. Let me know when you get a chance.
Anyway, I didn’t want you to think that I stopped believing in you or anything just because my Christmas wish-list didn’t show up at my home. It is kind of hard to send the list there when I’m in Mexico. So I thought I would just post my list here so you could review it in your own time.
What can I wish for? I don’t know… There is nothing that I can really justify. I guess I could ask for some more clothes. I’ve only had two pairs to wear the entire year and they are getting kind of worn out. So some new clothes would be nice.
My shoes are worn out too. So a new pair of shoes would be helpful.
But I feel kind of guilty asking for more clothes because I’ve been to all these areas in the world in which there are people to whom a new pair of shoes and new clothes are a luxury they will seldom, if ever, have.
I know you know that, and I know that there are a lot of people in the world who would be glad to help you change that, but the problem is that they’re not looking, they’re not watching, they’re not even acknowledging that some of the things we are doing are causing other people to be poor.
I was praying about it in Church today. I attended Mass at the parish of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City. By the way, do you have a computer St. Nick? Well, if you do, make sure you have downloaded Google Earth (which is a great program to help you plan your route on Christmas if you don’t already know about it) and then click here. It will show you the pictures I took.
Just so you know, the reason all the pictures are askew is because the Metropolitan Cathedral is incredibly out of whack. The columns all tilt in different directions. I was trying to demonstrate the tilt of the walls, but every time I took a picture, the photo came out straight, so I just started to tilt the photos on purpose.
Immediately after Mass, the priest put the Eucharist on the high altar for Eucharistic Adoration. The Eucharist was kept in beautiful monstrance made of gold. That’s when it hit me.
“That’s what I need for Christmas!” I said.
Maybe you heard me.
Sorry. I tried to be quiet.
Anyway. My point wasn’t that I wanted a gold monstrance of my own. That would be silly. Monstrances are really only useful inside a church. I don’t have my own church, so I don’t need a monstrance. But a monstrance is used to show Christ’s presence to others, and that is what I need, the tools to show Christ’s presence to others.
During this year, I have had the privilege of taking numerous photos and hearing incredible stories about the presence of Christ in the world, especially in his Church. What I want for Christmas is the ability to show that to others.
So, right! A gold monstrance isn’t exactly what I need. Practically speaking, I need something more like an LCD projector, something that can broadcast what I have seen to others. I guess you could consider it a modern day monstrance, not made of gold, and probably manufactured somewhere in China, but that’s OK. I’ve learned that there are some really cool people living in China.
I don’t know if you keep LCD projectors in the North Pole, but if you did, I think I could use one. If not, that’s OK too. Perhaps you can think of a different gift that would enable work like a monstrance, and show others the gift of Christ in the world. That would be fine too. The important thing is that I need help to show others what I have seen.
OK. That’s all for this year. Have a good Advent season. I’m sure you’ll be busy, but rest assured that I’ll be praying for you. You have an important job to bring joy and happiness to boys and girls across the world.
Sincerely,
David Heimann
P.S. I should be home for Christmas, so anything to do decide to bring me can be dropped off there. Thanks!