Mother Teresa Shelter brings Joy to the homeless on Christmas day

The Mother Teresa Shelter held their annual Christmas luncheon, feeding over 200 of our homeless brothers and sisters on Dec. 25. The event began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Edmond Carmody, who reminded helpers, volunteers, staff, and families, “Today a Savior is born for us."

"Every day is today. There is no yesterday; there is no tomorrow; the Lord is born today. Because He is God, he has no past, no future – just today. He is born into this world for you, for me, and all our friends, the homeless," Bishop Emeritus Carmody said. "So we take care of one other and are committed to doing so.”

Three members of the Gallagher family, Owen, Karen and Garrett, and Gary Richards, provided the music for the luncheon’s Mass and Christmas music. Other volunteers cooked, filled plates of barbecue and fixings, and passed out Christmas gifts.

Some of the recipients of lunch, clothing gifts, and other bare necessities expressed their gratitude and awe at the volunteers’ kindness and generosity. One woman danced in place as the band played, “Joy to the World.”

One of the band members, Owen Gallagher, said: “It’s a very strange year because everyone is eating outside.” Another thing that differentiated this year’s celebration from previous years was there were fewer musicians. “Some just didn’t feel comfortable coming during the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

Also, Sister Rency Moonjely, SABS, decided to keep volunteers down to minimize the chance of spreading the virus.

Other members of the Gallagher family were cooking and passing out food. They hail from Orange Grove, Refugio and San Antonio. They have made volunteering at the Shelter a Christmas family tradition for over ten years.

Another family, volunteering for their first time, the Lopez’ who represented Valero from Three Rivers, provided the meat. Entire families and friends of families like the Gallaghers volunteer every year to bring joy to the faces of those who have very little.

Other volunteers included Barbara Little, Eddie Rodriguez, Julie Franz, Mary Richards, Coleen Bohn, Kathy Berry, and people like Mary Teresa Reyna from Banquette who brought gifts of homemade beanies, gloves and socks.

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