It’s the Season of Goodwill

I am in the Xmas spirit. Looking at the faces of young children sitting on the knee of Santa certainly helps in forgetting the trying times that may have occurred during the year and focus on the positive things in everyday living.
This past weekend was very special. On Sunday morning we attended the 9 am Mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral and listened with joy to the youth choir singing beautiful songs about the upcoming Christian celebrations. Our two grandchildren who live in Ottawa (Ryan 7 and a half and Sara 6 years old) were singing in the choir. Then after the Mass there was a party for the children with lots of juices, munchies and games. They had a lot of fun. In the afternoon, we took the grandchildren to the Hungarian Cultural Centre to meet Santa and to receive presents and Hungarian Lángos (like beaver tail). When Santa asked Sara what would you like for Xmas? Sara said a DS and Santa asked what is a DS? (DS is a Nintendo game… I know because I looked it up on Google afterwards). Sara then asked Santa if he was real. Santa changed the subject skillfully; but she didn’t give up, she asked us afterwards if he was real? We told her that he was an associate of Santa; the real Santa was meeting children in Hungary at that particular time. That satisfied her curiosity, just for now…
Last week I experienced another heartwarming example of goodwill associated with the Xmas season. Our son-in-law Gill is at an advanced state of brain cancer. One of his last wishes was to see the Rocky Mountains. So my daughter Jennifer contacted an organization called Angels Anonymous http://www.angelsanonymous.org/ to see if they could help make his wish a reality. They responded positively and Gill, Jennifer, Ryan and Sara are booked to fly to Calgary on December 22nd then continue by bus to Banff for a Xmas the children will never forget that they were able to spend together as a family. They will be returning to Ottawa on December 29th. Angels Anonymous started with a group of friends banding together to help fulfill a woman's last wish. Realizing how much can be done by a small group of dedicated individuals they are now helping terminally ill adults fulfill one final wish from the heart. They operate on a very small cash budget and rely heavily on donations. Angels Anonymous does not receive federal or provincial funding, so as a result, they rely solely on corporate and individual contributions, as well as on their fundraising efforts.
I am hoping that the sales of our book: “Death Can Wait – Stories from Cancer Survivors” (see www.hegyipublications.com) will go well during the holiday season. Since all profits from the sale of this book are donated to support cancer research and people suffering from cancer, Angels Anonymous is certainly a worthy recipient of such funds. In addition, I will personally donate to this worthy organization and any of the readers who are looking for worthy non-profit agencies to support, I hope will help Angels Anonymous as well (just follow instruction on their web site).
As a proud cancer survivor, my wish for Xmas is to see a world without wars and hatred. The millions of dollars spent on staging wars could then be used to help people in need, feed the hungry and put smiles on the faces of children. Let the peace prayer of St. Francis guide us in this endeavor:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light.