Three Princes (from SufferingWell)
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
So many women are like angels! Their capacity for kindness, patience, empathy, selflessness, and unconditional love is often staggering. On numerous occasions I have been left humbled, deeply moved, and awestruck by the sensitivity, tirelessness, self-sacrifice, perspicacity, and near miracle-wielding abilities of a woman. Multiply all that exponentially when it comes to loving their children. Sometimes I whimsically wonder if the Lord’s creation of Woman wasn’t actually His release of Man 2.0. Olympic competitions notwithstanding, women and men, by almost any measure, are very different.
That having been said, it is far more rare to discern anything approaching the abundance of such exceptional qualities among mere males. In keeping with the Nativity theme and in the interest of keeping the Christmas spirit strong throughout the year, I offer accounts of three men-- not Kings, not Magi, nor in the opinions of some, not even Wise Men. To serve the purpose of this narrative, let us call them Princes.
Prince Edward
Edward is a charming and outgoing man who has worked hard throughout his life and has
achieved a generous amount of worldly success. A large part of his accomplishment is
without doubt the result of his continual, ardent quest for knowledge. He also freely offers
his painstakingly collected information to family and friends in areas where it may be
pertinent to their lives.
Sadly, Edward lost his parents a few years back. They, too, were exceptional persons and
like Edward, stood firmly in their faith and in their love of nation. Both Edward’s parents were passionately devoted to the callings which God placed before them: his mother had dedicated herself to delivering sustenance, comfort, and love to the needy in Appalachia, while his father realized groundbreaking, life-saving achievements in caring for and protecting young mothers and their babies. Edward’s mum and dad likewise assisted and supported one another fully in their giving efforts. As his parents went to their eternal rewards, Edward took up their vacated mantels, and continues to forward their lives’ work.
Busy as Edward may be, he always makes time for family, friends, and those in need. A couple
of years ago, before the world capsized, Edward organized and hosted a family reunion which
brought together several branches of the family from multiple generations and from various locations
around the northeast. It was a wonderful event, connecting family members who had not seen one
another for decades, and many for the first time. Edward collected and distributed everyone's
contact information along with a generous collection of photos recollecting that special day. Plans
were made to make this gathering an annual family celebration and to encompass an even greater
assembly of family from across the USA and Canada. The date set for the next meeting would fall
on the occasion of Edward's departed parents' wedding anniversary and would include a Mass in
their honor. Edward sometimes envisioned that, in the years to come, invitations might even be extended to family members beyond North America.
Although the world has changed for the time being, Edward's positivity has not wavered. He
continues to keep connected with family, sending gifts to little ones, and offering a kind word, support,
and assistance to all. His warmth, generosity, and genuine affection for life is an inspiration to many.
Edward lives each day as an offering to the Infant Jesus.
Prince John
John strives every day to deepen his faith and to strengthen his relationship with God. He surrounds himself with Christian music, religious radio programming, views scriptural sermons online, and chooses faith-based, family entertainment to enjoy with his family. He and his wife are active in their church and readily volunteer their time for church-related activities. John looks to the Bible for guidance and invites probing discussions of the scriptures.
John is a man of sometimes frustratingly staunch and strict moral and ethical principles. Even when they seem to impede well-intentioned goals, John will not compromise them. The depth of his integrity is frequently difficult for many to fathom.
I believe John’s unswerving sense of honor grew out of his years in the Boy Scouts, which culminated in his ascension to the highest attainable rank of Eagle Scout. John remains active today in scouting, serving in leadership positions for the current generation of scouts, which includes his young son in the Cub Scouts. In many respects John’s scouting experiences have defined the man he has become.
Boy Scout Oath or Promise
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
Boy Scout Law
A Scout is:
- Trustworthy,
- Loyal,
- Helpful,
- Friendly,
- Courteous,
- Kind,
- Obedient,
- Cheerful,
- Thrifty,
- Brave,
- Clean,
- and Reverent.
Boy Scout Motto
Be Prepared!
Boy Scout Slogan
Do a Good Turn Daily!
The Outdoor Code
As an American, I will do my best to -
- Be clean in my outdoor manners
- Be careful with fire
- Be considerate in the outdoors, and
- Be conservation minded.
John’s love of the outdoors and nature was likely cultivated in large part through his scouting experiences. He shares his fondness for camping and hiking with his family and instills in his children a reverent respect for all of God’s creation. In his profession as a geologist John has found himself in hazardous situations as he has worked to assess and restore damaged areas. Environmental protection and preservation, as well as safe and responsible solutions are top priorities for John.
John’s first aid training and ability to maintain focus through highly stressful situations has been a godsend on multiple occasions. He has performed emergency procedures which have resulted in saved lives. He has stayed late into the night in hospital rooms offering support to confused and frightened patients, and keeping absent family members apprised of the goings on. He has attended meetings with their doctors to make certain that all medical instructions were clearly understood.
Many of John’s dreams differ from those of others in that his dreams often envision an advantage for someone besides himself: to benefit someone's health, to make someone more comfortable, to lend someone a helping hand, to bring some happiness into someone’s life. John once noticed that an older gentleman was becoming more sedentary due to the time he was spending at the computer. He encouraged and assisted the man in acquiring a treadmill, then utilized his liberal electronic skills to enhance the computer with multiple screens, incorporating it with the treadmill into a treaddesk so the man could exercise while he used his computer. Perhaps another less practical but more touching gift John made to this man was that of a few sets of guitar strings. John had noticed a neglected guitar which had a missing string in the man’s home. The thoughtful present renewed the man’s interest in playing guitar and brought a forgotten joy back into his life.
Behind John’s principled and resolute exterior stands a good, kind, gentle man. As John honors his convictions, his family, his fellow humans, nature, and all of creation, so too does he honor himself, and so too does he honor the Infant Jesus, born to bring Redemption to us all.
Prince Andrew
One evening Andrew stopped into the grocery store to pick up a few items. One of the necessities on his list was birdseed, because his faithful parakeet needed to eat, too. Hurriedly making his way to the pet food aisle Andrew noticed an elderly man, dressed rather shabbily, carefully scrutinizing and comparing the various brands and varieties of canned cat food on the shelf, and placing a few of them into his hand held basket. As he observed the man, Andrew was struck by the overwhelming notion that this man did not own a cat. Discreetly Andrew reached into his wallet and removed the largest denomination bill it contained. Unnoticed, he crumpled the bill and let it drop to the supermarket floor. Making his way down the aisle to the birdseed, he spoke to the man. “Excuse me, sir.” Andrew pointed to the clump of paper on the floor a few yards away. “I think you may have dropped something in the aisle.” Andrew grabbed the birdseed and disappeared into the next aisle. About a minute later Andrew took a peek back into the pet food aisle. The man was gone, the bill was gone, and the basket of carefully selected cat food cans had been abandoned on the floor.
Another day, shortly after he had moved into a new neighborhood, Andrew noticed that his usually quiet street was filled with parked cars. Realizing that the day was a Jewish holiday, and that there was a sizable synagogue on the next block, Andrew deduced that an overflow of worshipers from the synagogue parking lot must be seeking alternate spaces nearby. As he turned to enter his home, Andrew recognized the voice of a familiar neighbor calling over to him. “Andrew, hurry and put your cars in front of your house. We can’t have those Jews parking on our street!” Andrew took another look up and down the street and was astonished to see that many of the parked cars were those of neighbors who normally kept their vehicles either garaged or in their driveways. Obediently, Andrew pulled his automobile out of the driveway and parked it in front of his house. He then opened the garage, backed out his wife’s car and placed it behind his, thus monopolizing all available space in front of his home. The neighbor smiled and signaled a triumphant “thumbs up” to Andrew. Andrew waved back, but instead of going inside, he sat on his front steps and waited. When he saw an unfamiliar car moving slowly down the road, he hurried over to it and asked the driver if he and his family needed parking to attend synagogue. Upon receiving an affirmative response, Andrew offered the family a spot in front of his house and moved his own car a few blocks away. Andrew did the same with his wife’s car. He then offered the use of his garage and his driveway to other synagogue-bound worshipers. To each of them he also confided an expedient shortcut through a small lane across from his home. Contented to have been of service, Andrew withdrew back inside. After that day many of his neighbors no longer bothered with Andrew.
Were not Andrew’s actions gifts to be treasured by the Infant Jesus?
Prince or princess, father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter, each of us need only open our heart to release an abundance unto one another. As do Edward, John, and Andrew, may we draw from our individual bounties of heavenly endowed blessings to sooth those afflicted by the harshness of our earth-bound surroundings, and to herald the good news of the promise of that humbly born Infant, on Whose birth celebration we honor by giving generously of ourselves, as His perfect example was destined to universally proclaim!
Merry Christmas to all, today, tomorrow, and for eternity!
