Sternsinger Aktion 2008

It was all a wonderful sight.This is winter season:the weather is not wonderful for children.It is either raining, too cold, snowy or a little bit sunny.The children are mostly between ages six and eight with a few older ones and the aim is simply to solicit and collect help for the underpriviledged children of the world: the motherless, the fatherless, the sick and all other children suffering innocently the wounds of our history.The children may never have seen any of these children but the parents have helped them to know that such children exist in the world.

Parents accompany the children to the mission centre where the children begin this exercise, dressed like the wise men to visit the new born king.Whether rain or not, cold or not, snow or no snow, sunny or not, these holy children of God are on the streets to sing and beg money for the action for one world.This is the experience in St Johannes Apostel Unterliederbach Frankfurt.
The response that the children receive does not affect their enthusiasm; some people welcome them so well, some do not notice their presence and for some there is no room for the sternsingers in the ´Inn´.The happy and innocent faces of the sternsingers oblige people o goodwill to charity.
After singing the song of the Three Wise Men the Children then present this or a similar message.

MIT DEM STERN DER DREI WEISEN HABEN WIR UNS AUFGEMACHT;
UM VON HAUS ZU HAUS ZU REISEN, LICHT ZU BRINGEN IN DIE NACHT.
JESUS IS BEI UNS AUF ERDEN;ER; DER UNS DAS LEBEN BRINGT;
DASS WIR ALLE GLÜCKLICH WERDEN:UNSER LEBEN GUT GELINGT.
FREUDE WILL ER DENEN SCHENKEN: DIE IHM WIE EIN KIND VERTRAUN;
LASST UNS ALLE AN IHN DENKEN; HOFFNUNGSVOLL WIR VORWÄRTS SCHAUN
WIR BITTEN EUCH; HELFT DEN KINDERN IN NOT; SO VIELEN VON IHNEN FELHLT DAS TÄGLICHE BROT.
GOTT SEGNE EUCH IN NEUEN JAHR!DAS WÜNSCHT EUCH DIE STERNSINGERSCHAR.

These sentiments are reflected in the children´s faces and this is what they do for other collections for the underprivileged.Their simple message is that like the three Wisemen of old, we should offer gifts to the child Jesus radiating in the experiences of the underpriviledged children.May we learn from these children and also help the helpless or mediate help for the needy.

andrew solii