Today's society needs love of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas is considered one of the most endearing and popular saints in Christendom. Many tales exist about his social ethos of philanthropy. For example, he secretly gifted dowries to daughters of impoverished parishioners.
His popularity even extends to the label of "Santa Claus."
St. Nicholas is revered as patron saint of children as a model of innocence and virtue. He also is a patron to sailors, protecting them from dangers of the high seas. His feast day is Tuesday.
The Roman Catholic Church presented relics of the body of St. Nicholas to the Greek Orthodox Church in December 1972. Some of the relics were enshrined at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Flushing, N.Y.
The message of love and its praxis of outreach lies at the heart of the Christian gospel, with the call to Christian love deeply viewed in hymnology.
The hymnology of St. Nicholas refers to the part of his life in relation to faith in Christ and ending with the invocation for his intercession to Almighty God. Each hymn praises highly his goodness and loving care for the needy.
This rich hymnology on the life of St. Nicholas is an outgrowth of his popularity among the people. It means that St. Nicholas' life and works were an inspiration to the people in his day and has remained so throughout the centuries.
Applying principles
Christians today can see how to apply the principles of the Scripture in their lives as did St. Nicholas. He was born into a Christian family, where the example and loving care of his parents implanted in his character the ideals of piety, prayer and love for his fellow man.
It is this family environment that is so needed today. Parents have an obligation to develop the character of their children in such a religious atmosphere. Today, children need a family environment based on a religious and moral life as it was in the family of St. Nicholas.
In the day of St. Nicholas, regardless of the persecutions that Christians experienced, parents instilled the need for religious piety. In today's society, the persecutions no longer exist. But other evil forces have replaced them and corrupt the character of children.
With such a religious background as a young man, St. Nicholas chose to dedicate his life to the service of the poor and needy as a layman and did not have in mind to enter the priesthood. By reading and studying the Scripture, St. Nicholas discovered that dedication to God required one's entire effort and time. This kind of dedication is so greatly needed today by Christians, who have the example of St. Nicholas to imitate.
Targeting their needs
The parents of St. Nicholas bequeathed great wealth and material goods to their son. He had no obligations or concern for his own needs. Lacking nothing, he began to realize the great needs and lack of simple goods among the poor and needy. His religious background and love for people inspired him to share his great wealth.
This attitude exemplifies the true Christian love for neighbor. This kind of dedication is lacking in today's society, which is reflected in spiritual and moral decay. The individual Christian should awaken from indifference, apathy and compromising of Christian values.
The love that St. Nicholas showed to people is reflected in the hymnology of the church: "Thy work of justice did show thee to thy congregation a canon of faith, the likeness of humility, a teacher of abstinence. By humility thou didst achieve exaltation, and by meekness, richness."
XThe Very Rev. John T. Karabatsos is pastor of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Youngstown.