The Bright Christmas Campaign is in full swing now — checks are arriving and so are requests for grants. For us at The Tablet, each donation and each request is a gift. The checks we receive are signs of generosity, of the desire to share with others. That is the true spirit of Christmas.

At Christmas, we celebrate the miracle that changed human history and changed our personal lives: the birth of the Holy Child Jesus, God incarnated in a poor, vulnerable baby born in a stable.

The miracle of Christmas is the ultimate call to help others less fortunate than ourselves. In that spirit, we conduct the Bright Christmas Campaign every year. The goal is always the same: to ensure that every child has a gift this Christmas. We send your donations to parishes and programs associated with the Diocese of Brooklyn to buy gifts for the needy at
Christmas.

Tablet readers who have supported this campaign generously for more than half a century are doing so again this year. Our goal is to surpass the $100.000 we collected and distributed last year. I ask for your help to achieve that goal.

It doesn’t matter if you can donate $5, $20, $200 or $1,000. Each donation counts, each donation helps. And each act of generosity renews the true spirit of Christmas.

We at The Tablet feel fortunate for your generous help. And we are also fortunate to receive the letters of request. Each of those letters describes an initiative or a program to make this a bright Christmas for some children.

Last week, for example, I received a message from Father Raymond P. Roden, the pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, a large, predominantly Hispanic parish in Corona. About five years ago, on Jan. 4, 2015, the church was almost destroyed by a fire. With the support of the diocese, the church was rebuilt, and it looks more beautiful than ever.

The parish has experienced a rebirth since then, too, but faces challenges that are common to parishes with large numbers of recent immigrants. In his message, Father Roden requested “a Bright Christmas grant for about 1,100 children who will participate in our Christmas and Three Kings celebrations. The funds will be used for gifts and for costumes and scenery for a major Three Kings drama on January 5, 2020, which you are most certainly invited to attend.”

In the Hispanic Catholic tradition, children receive their gifts on the Feast of the Epiphany. I still remember going to bed on Jan. 5 hoping that the Three Kings (instead of Santa) would bring me toys that night.

Thanks to our readers, I told Father Roden that we will send a grant from the Bright Christmas Campaign to Our Lady of Sorrows. And, yes, The Tablet will be there to cover the joyous celebration. We want our readers to see how their donations helped us help Father Roden hold the celebration for more than a thousand children in the beautiful church of Our Lady of Sorrows.

This is one of the many beautiful things your donations make possible. To be a part of our Bright Christmas team, simply send your check to:

The Tablet’s Bright Christmas, 1712 Tenth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215.

And this year you have a new option.

Go to – thetablet.org.

See this link – DONATE: The Tablet Bright Christmas Fund.

Click on the link to donate directly with your debit card or credit card, or through PayPal.