JonathansCorner.com/christmas_tales
Another gale of laughter shook the table. "But it always seems like this," Father Bill said. "The time for fasting has passed, and now we are ready to feast. People melt away from the parish hall to enjoy Christmas together, and there is finally one table. Outside, the snow is falling... falling... wow. That's some heavy snowfall."
Adam looked around. "Hmm... That car in the street is having trouble... Ok, it's moving again. I wouldn't want to be driving home in this snow."
Mary smiled. "Why don't we go around the circle, and each tell a story, or share something, or... something? I think we're going to be here for a while."
And so the stories began.
Paul's Tale: Another Kind of Mind
Basil's Tale: The Desert Fathers
Macrina's Tale: The Communion Prayer
Barbara's Tale: The Fairy Prince
Innocent said, "I was visiting with my nephew Jason, and he asked me, 'Why are you called Innocent now, or Uncle Innocent, or whatever?' I told him that I was named after one of the patron saints of America, called Apostle to America.
"He said, 'Patron saint of America? I bet he wasn't even an American! And I bet you're going to tell me his boring life!'
"I smiled, and said, 'Sit down, kid. I'm going to bore you to tears.'"
And this is how he tried to bore Jason to tears.
Where should I start? He was born just before 1800 into the family of a poor sexton. Stop laughing, Jason, that means a church's janitor. The saint was reading the Bible in church at the age of six—the age he was orphaned at. He went to seminary, and aside from being the top pupil in everything from theology and