The Practical Parson

 In this festive season of the year, it is more than desirable that those of with means should make some provision for the poor and destitute; or whatever it was the Charles Dickens wrote in "A Christmas Carol".  As a pastor, I am always more than happy to assist with charitable endeavors when they are undertaken in goodwill; however there are trends in "charity" which are increasing in popularity and insanity each year.   The first trend is people making demands of charity.  Not in the sense of people asking for assistance who are truly in need of it, mind you; but those who, when faced with a gift from the heart, turn it aside and demand something else instead.  For example, when you see a person on the street corner with a sign "homeless and hungry, anything will help" and you bring them food; yet they yell at you and demand cash instead.  This is enough to put many people off the idea of giving to those in need; because if your sign you hold claims...

 December 28th and 29th are among the important feast days in the Christmas Season, as they are respectively the feast of the Holy Innocents and St. Thomas Becket (of Canterbury).  The feast of Holy Innocents commemorates the children of Bethlehem who were murdered on the order of king Herod; who was trying to kill the Christ Child in the mix.   The feast of Thomas Becket commemorates the great Archbishop of Canterbury who stood up to a corrupt king of England who demanded ever-increasing power and authority over aspects of human existence he had no right to, namely religion.   Ah, how quickly mankind progresses in its eternal march towards its ultimate demise!  Today our clergy and civic leaders demand that mothers be allowed to murder their own children in the womb because of "women's right to choose".  Even more clergy willingly and whole-heartedly cast aside their sacred duties in favor of legalistic mumbo-jumbo about "protections" under the l...