"Religion, Culture, and Politics" was one of the first things I published on this site in January 2021. I had just returned to bloggery in the aftermath of the Year of Covid and the doings surrounding the 2020 election. Many of us were surprised to discover, in the unofficial but potent alliance of various media, … Continue reading Religion, Culture, & Politics: Which is the Foundation?
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Faith vs. Power: Epiphany
We can learn a lot from the faith of the Magi. How often do we, who have the full revelation of Jesus Christ and his Gospel, instead seek our own worldly agenda, following the example of miserable King Herod?
The Christmas Tree Points to Christ: 12th Day of Christmas
Unfortunately, self-styled debunkers sometimes attack the Christmas Tree (erroneously) as a pagan intrusion. We Christians need not be swayed by such nonsense.
We Three Kings: Music for Epiphany
"We Three Kings of Orient Are . . ." Is there anyone out there who doesn't know this song? It's easily the most familiar hymn associated with Epiphany, at least as we celebrate the feast in the Western Church.
Christmas Bells – The Wrong Shall Fail, The Right Prevail: 10th Day of Christmas
As he himself struggles with profound sorrow in the midst of our most festive season, Longfellow juxtaposes the joyful ringing of bells in “The belfries of all Christendom” to the manifest lack of peace among men
God’s Ways are not Our Ways: 9th Day of Christmas
Ours is a God indeed whose thoughts are not our thoughts, whose ways are not our ways: he constantly confounds our expectations. This is not the Grand Entrance any of us would have devised for God Made Manifest.
One of Us: Solemnity of Mary
Through the Motherhood of Mary, Jesus, that is to say God, takes on our humanity in an utterly tangible, direct and personal way.
God is Light: 7th Day of Christmas
Light has also been a big part of our liturgical practices, as anyone who has attended the Easter Vigil can attest, and this also goes back to the beginning.
Christmas Continues: 6th Day of Christmas
Today is a Solemnity, in fact, Monday in the Octave of Christmas. Even if nobody else seems to notice, you have every reason to go about your business humming “Gloria in excelsis Deo!”
The Paradox of Christmas and St. Thomas Becket: 5th Day 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.