Christmas, the Homeless and Midnight Mass

On Sunday 22nd December Pope Francis, prompted by a banner in St Peter's Square that read 'The Poor Cannot Wait,'  compared the difficulties of homeless families to that of the Holy Family, when the Lord Jesus was born in a stable and the family was then forced to flee to Egypt. The Pope called on everyone to do everything possible to ensure that every family has a place to live. A few days earlier he celebrated his 77th birthday by inviting four homeless men to breakfast. This is a Pope who 'walks the talk.'

We had the opportunity and privilege to offer - in a very limited way - good food, a safe and warm sleeping space and companionship to several homeless men last night - Christmas Eve - at the Sacred Heart Church's night shelter.

It was the work of a couple of hours to erect the folding beds, haul the men's bags (containing their duvets, sheets, pillows) from the van, set up and lay the tables, put out reading material, snacks, set up the kitchen and do the necessary admin. There were chocolates on the side table, a Christmas tree and seasonal table decorations.

The beds are ready

and the tables are set

As there are a number of charities that help the homeless in Brighton & Hove, we assumed the men would have taken advantage of a free lunch offered by several churches at this time of the year, so we decided against the traditional fare of turkey, Christmas Pudding and mince pies. Instead, Rachel and Tara and their team cooked a beef stew with dumplings, mash and veg, followed by tiramisu and cloud cake. Under the watchful eye of maestro Georges, assisted by Cathy, the kitchen became an orderly bedlam of steam, smells, bubbling liquids and shrieks of laughter. The only tears came from Tara who stood furiously chopping onions, wiping her eyes, wet streaks running down her cheeks.

Tara sheds a tear or two

but soon recovers from the onions!

Before dinner, we gave each man a Christmas card signed by all the volunteers on duty, together with a Boots Gift Card for £10 (- thank you SVP!) At dinner we pulled crackers, told jokes and stuffed ourselves. Father Kevin roared at this joke from a cracker:
What is an Ig?
It's an Eskimo house without a toilet...(I suspect he will find a way to use it in a homily).

After dinner, a dozen guests and volunteers sat down to puzzle over Lynne's annual Christmas Quiz. There were questions on geography, movies, famous personalities and so on, all lavishly illustrated. Phill won the huge box of chocolates and Patrick moderated the debate over the answers in his usual urbane way.

A couple of the men asked if they could attend midnight Mass so three guests and four volunteers hurried off at 11.20 pm to listen to the carols before Mass began. One of the men told me that he had last been to Mass when he was about five or six years old and was very keen to experience it again. Another couldn't remember when he had last been and was a little unsure whether he should go, but his curiosity overcame his caution. (When I spoke to them this morning, Christmas Day, they were still enthused about the experience. When I told them that they had been away from the shelter for two hours, they did not believe me - but it was true; half an hour of carols, an hour and a half of Mass. It must have flown past for them. One of them described the choir's singing as 'Heavenly...it sent goose-bumps up my spine').  

Speaking of the choir, by kind permission of Jane I was able to take my camera and perch on a chair in the corner of the choir loft, taking a few (discreet) photos of the Mass. It was the first time I had observed the choir in action - and the volume of sound is scary! Thundering organ, soaring violin and raised voices made the space vibrate. It was beautiful, haunting and powerful. Jane even invited me to sing with the choir - I think she must have a good sense of humour.    

The choir 

 Mass began on the dot of midnight as Fr. Kevin processed down the aisle with five servers (including the accomplished Georges who had just finished his shift cooking with the homeless shelter, and his daughter Cassie, another shelter volunteer.)

It was a special night. Thanks to all the wonderful selfless night shelter volunteers and to the guests who let us become their family for a few brief hours. Deo Gratias!