(Annual Christmas Eve Message delivered at the homeless shelters in and around Atlanta!)

Hello and thank you for your time this Christmas Eve.

I come here with a message to remind you of who you are.

For I tell you, you, are a miracle standing!

You, who have been made by God’s hand, in His image and likeness,

reflect the presence of the divine in your being.

For you have been made in this image and likeness of

an all powerful God who created the universe.

The universe filled with hundreds of billions of galaxies,

each with one to two hundred billion stars

much like our own sun, Solaris.

You have been made by His hand to be creators

in your own right.

His children, you have aspired to be,

brought into existence by His will,

knit in your mother’s womb, He knew you,

for with His purpose you were made.

You are a miracle standing!

And as you make your way through this

tapestry of the human experience,

the deep rich texture of the spiritual thread you provide

weaves an image of divine grace that the angels bow down before.

The cacophony of sounds that rise up from humanity create

a symphony that no great composer could have struck to paper or

ever hope to conduct.

This symphony of humanity rising to our  God in a joyful noise

relies on each of us to perform the note we are assigned.

Let me assure you that no note is greater then another,

and we are counting on you to perform your part

with bold crescendo as this glorious sound of mankind

rises to the heavens to please our God.

I remind you once again that you are a miracle standing.

And on this Christmas Eve do not despair the condition you are in.

For God provided the greatest gift ever to mankind in Himself.

For He came down, Emmanuel, and dwelt among us.

This is the great gift that I speak of.

Yet this gift came to us in the form

of an infant child, laid upon a bed of straw, in a manger;

surrounded by livestock and farm animals,

in an ancient Judean barn.

Yet He ruled the world,

in this lowest of conditions,

and He does so to this day.

So, on this night, this holy night,

this night divine,

we come together in celebration of that gift.

This night, when Christ was born.

Tomorrow, Christians and Catholics around the world will mark

the Feast Day of the Nativity in celebration of the Christ child.

But this eve, I am here with you,

waiting in anticipation of our Lord and Savior,

Jesus, the Christ.

I want you to know that there remains no place

I would rather be then with you right now.

It is my honor and privilege to wish you

a Merriest of Christmases.

I love you more then you know,

and you matter to me more then you can imagine.

So do not diminish yourself ever in this world,

for as I have told you,

you are a miracle standing!

May almighty God bless you now and always!

And again, Merry Christmas!

Wise Men

© Written by Joey Martineck

The two man play about three wise men.

I was amazed by the Wise Men show.  In a brief 45 minutes, the audience is invited to consider the deepest human questions in the light of faith.  Wise Men has us laughing, crying, and rapt in God-filled silence, sometimes all in the same minute.

~Father Tim Hepburn, Georgia Tech Catholic Center

Plot Summary:

How long is he going to take? Something is wrong with Melchior and it is driving Balthasar insane. Ever since Melchior went to see the baby, he has changed. After a long journey with his fellow magi travelers, Balthasar desires to experience what happened to his friend as he impatiently waits for his third companion to finish meeting the newborn “King”. And what could be more peculiar than the bright star shining above them against the dark night? Come and see the untold story of the magi in the two-man one act play “Wise Men.”

“Wise Men” first opened at the Georgia Tech Catholic Center in December 2009 performed by Bryan Lewis (Balthasar) and Joey Martineck (Melchior).  Bryan and Joey are two Catholic students at Georgia Tech that are “following the star” by taking this play to churches, theaters, and other venues to perform across the state.  Their mission is to allow the Holy Spirit to move through theatrical performance.

Past venues included:

• Georgia Tech Catholic Center: Atlanta, GA
• Prince of Peace Catholic Church: Flowery Branch, GA
• St. Benedict Catholic Church: Duluth, GA
• St. John Neumann Catholic Church: Lilburn, GA
• Catholic Church of St. Monica: Duluth, GA
• Killian Hall: Lilburn, GA
• New London Theatre: Snellville, GA
• St. Brigid Catholic Church: John’s Creek, GA
• St. Mark Lutheran Church: Tucker, GA

We do not charge a fee for performing.  For special venues, compensation for things such as gas money may apply.

What you need to provide:

• An audience
• A stage (if not available, two chairs is fine)

We bring all our costumes and props.  Past venues have provided some sort of sound system for entrance music and a set of a nativity scene.  These are welcome but not necessary.

Please email martineckj@gmail.com to request a date for a venue near you or if you have any other questions.  The play can be performed at any time throughout the year, but the Christmas season is filling up fast.  Thank you and we hope to bring the joy of “Wise Men” to your venue very soon!

The events of the day have been surreal and tragic. I was visiting a patient at Piedmont Hospital this afternoon and found the floor in his room completely soaked and water coming out of the bathroom into the hall. I opened the bathroom door and found a delusional young man naked, the shower running, his clothes clogging the drain and tub overflowing. I immediately notified a passing nurse I needed security and medical assistance for this young man since he was not making sense.

As long as he could see me and hold onto my hand he remained calm. So a nurse and I drained the tub, dried him off, and got him into a hospital gown. Security took some time to be ready to take custody of him and during that time I simply loved the young man and kept him calm. After he was handed over to security, he broke free, ran down the hall and dove out of the sixth story window in front of patients, visitors, doctors, nurses, security and myself.

 

 

 

The medical staff was so great in tending to me as the wave of shock nearly knocked me down. The police, chaplains and medical staff were a true blessing as we all were horrified by what had just occurred. Jonathan Goode with beunthinkable.com was great to come and sit with me as the police got all the information they needed. He took me to the Cathedral to pray and brought me home as driving was out of the question for me. When I left the hospital the young man was in extremely critical condition but he has since passed away.

Ten minutes before this tragic turn of events this young man wanted help in receiving forgiveness for all the mistakes he had made in his life. With a nurse assisting me I prayed with this young man, counselled him on asking God for forgiveness and he asked God for forgiveness. In my very limited capacity as a lay minister in Christ I administered a baptism to this young man from water drawn from the faucet.

 

I realize I am in the numbness of the initial shock right now. My body is aching and my nerves are shot. I am physically and emotionally exhausted. I have been going between calm and uncontrollable sobbing as I process what just occurred.

Fifty times in my 22 plus years of serving on behalf of Christ or leading those to Christ, the people I served went on to take their lives by means of suicide. This is the first time I have witnessed such a tragedy in person and this beautiful child of God was the 51st soul to leave us in torment. Do not judge any of the 51 as we do not know or comprehend their heart. Leave that to God. I have been told this young man may have been dealing with a lot of things in his life beyond his control or understanding.  Please do not judge this child of God.

Please pray for all those involved this afternoon. May God be merciful to those that have experienced the pain of this day. Pray for his family, friends, the medical staff that witnessed this event and those that fought hard to save his life. Pray for the security staff, police, ambulance and fire department men and women that responded to this sad turn of events. And please pray for me as I continue to remain with my boat in the Deep Waters lowering my nets for the catch.

Hail Mary,
full of grace,
the Lord is with thee;

blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen

In the love and peace of Christ Jesus I pray tonight for all mankind!