In the 1990s, my partner at the time was a church organist in southern Orange County, although we lived about an hour north. On Sundays, he would drive down to play for the Protestants and I would attend Mass at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach. Almost all the city's outreach programs had started at that parish. On Christmas Eve, he had Sunday afternoon and night services and I would lunch with him beforehand. When he went to work, I had time to kill until Midnight Mass, after which he would pick me up.

I decided to do something useful during those hours. I would have dinner and go work the homeless shelter. Since the Virgin and St. Joseph were homeless on Christmas Eve, I thought it was a good demonstration of acting out my faith. One night I brought hymnals and those of us who desired sang carols. It gave some joy into these marginalized people's lives. Later that night, when the Infant Christ was placed in the Manger during Mass, I thought of those homeless people and how God the Son especially loves them, for His life on earth started out as one of them.