10th Day of Christmas – The Christ Child and St. Genevieve
But who can we trust if we can’t trust the God who became a little child among us, and showed us how to say, even in the final extremity, “Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my Spirit” (Luke 23:46)?
9th Day of Christmas – God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways
God’s Ways God’s ways are not our ways. We hear a lot of Isaiah through the seasons of Advent and Christmas, but the passage below expresses with particular clarity one of the most striking and curious things about Christmas: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.For as the […]
8th Day of Christmas – The Scandal of Mary, Mother of God and Marian Medley
As Christians, we know that we are called to conform ourselves to the Truth, not to the impossible task of somehow conforming Divine Truth to ourselves.
7th Day of Christmas – Christmas is Just Beginning
Are You Sure It’s Just Beginning? Just beginning? Does it seem like it’s just beginning . . . ? Some images never fade. I have a vivid memory of a Christmas years ago, shortly after my return to the Faith. The Christmas tree was literally hurled through the front door on the afternoon of Christmas […]
6th Day of Christmas – The Holy Family and the Crisis of Our Family
Holy Family The Holy Family, whose feast we celebrate today, commemorates the Holiest Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. But, as always, there’s more to it. The name of the feast also reminds us that “the family” in general, composed of father, mother, and children, is itself “holy.” It is, in fact, a gift of God. […]
5th Day of Christmas – St. Thomas Becket, Martyr and the Paradox of Christmas
Today, on the 5th Day of Christmas, we find ourselves celebrating yet another martyr, St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered by knights in the service of King Henry II of England on December 29th, 1170.
4th Day of Christmas – Holy Innocents and St. Vincent of Lerins
It’s not that the power of the Herods, Huns, and other worldly tyrants has had no lasting effect. It’s just that their “power” doesn’t accomplish what they expect. St. Paul again provides us with the key when he says: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
3rd Day of Christmas – St. John the Evangelist, Love at the Foot of the Cross
John is beloved because he is a disciple who himself loves much – so much that he alone of the Apostles follows Christ all the way to Calvary and stands with the Blessed Mother and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross. He is our model in loving discipleship.
2nd Day of Christmas – St. Stephen and the Incarnation
We need to embrace the Gospel in its entirety. The joy of the Nativity leads to the sorrow of Cavalry, which itself prepares the way for the still greater glory of Easter.
Merry Christmas (and Feast of St. Anastasia)!
St. Anastasia shares in the Incarnation by sharing her feast day with the commemoration of Christ’s Nativity on the Solemnity of Christmas.