The weather was warm, the hottest time of the year. We were in the yard in
Kowak Parish, Tanzania arranging flowers for the altar for the Christmas
Midnight Mass. The flower of choice was the poinsettia which was growing all
around us along with other exotic tropical plants and flowers. With Christmas in
the air and on my mind I wasn’t surprised to hear faint strains of the old
familiar carols, probably my imagination. But no, suddenly we saw a multitude of
Tanzanian people coming over a hill in the distance, singing and laughing,
singing the carols and hymns that had been translated into their local language
by some missioner. They were walking from one of the outstations 30 miles away,
coming for the Christmas Mass. With all their hearts they were commemorating the
birth of Christ. These people couldn’t read, but their memories are remarkable.
The congregation, one and all, sang with great fervor and glorious voices.