Epiphany: Faith v. Power
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?
12th Day of Christmas: The Christmas Tree Points to Christ
Merry Christmas on this, the 12th Day of Christmas! Today is the last of my daily “Twelve Days of Christmas” posts. While today doesn’t mark the end of the Official Christmas Season®, we are nearing its end. In an earlier post I described the season as a series of ripples emanating from Christmas Day with decreasing […]
11th Day of Christmas: Christmas Bells – The Wrong Shall Fail, The Right Prevail
Longfellow, who had very powerful incentives to turn to despair, instead created a poem that shows us that the joy of Christmas is not a denial of the brokenness of this world, but God’s answer to it.
10th Day of Christmas: The Christ Child and St. Genevieve
Merry Christmas! Today is the 10th Day of Christmas, as we continue to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Creator as a little human child. It is helpful when we think about the meaning of the Nativity to remember that our ancestors generally did not fully share our sentimentality towards children.
9th Day of Christmas: The Feast of Epiphany
Yes, it is still the Christmas Season: the season officially ends next Sunday with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. Today we celebrate the Great Feast of Epiphany . . . at least here in the United States. I’ll withhold comment on whether I think it a good thing or not to move it […]
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: What Exactly is The Christmas Season?
There are some people who don’t see the point of all this complexity: why not just celebrate Christmas and be done with it? But the Liturgical Calendar is not just about commemorating past events: it’s about experiencing the events of Salvation History in our own lives.
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 the Saving Power of Christmas Carols
Herod’s worldly strength was no match for the might of the little baby born in Bethlehem. Likewise, the Holy Spirit working through sacred Christmas songs changed hearts that were not moved by human arguments.
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.