My new year's resolution is to CHOOSE GRATITUDE for everything, every single thing in my life: not just the joys and the wonderful moments, but for the pain and sorrow, the grief and the laughter. The generosity and kindness of others, the insults and accusations. I CHOOSE it all!
I'm still working my way through the book of Isaiah in these early days of Christmas. I love the faithful prophets who suffered so much to bring the truth to Israel. They suffered abuse, persecution, and murder; but they never flinched.
Do parents live in dread of the big question? "Mommy...Daddy...Is there really a Santa Claus?"
The day after Christmas the Church gives us a graphic reminder that embracing and living the faith isn't just cuddling a baby, but requires walking in darkness and suffering. St. Stephen, the first martyr, was a deacon chosen to help with the distribution of food to widows and the poor. While exercising that duty he performed signs and wonders that amazed the community.
His actions inflamed the Jewish people who dragged him before the Sanhedrin accusing him falsely of blasphemy. How did he respond? He delivered a passionate review of God's covenant with His chosen people from the time of Abraham.
Out of the mouths of the young to touch our hearts with the true meaning of Christmas.
May you and your family be blessed on this holy day.
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| Weary of fighting: Historic group photo of German and British soldiers standing together Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images |
At any rate, the elephant was little in the beginning, like a lap dog. The young son kept telling his parents there was an elephant in the house, but they wouldn't believe it. So the elephant kept growing, trying to get their attention. Finally, he was so big he could walk off with the house. At that point, the parents acknowledged the existence of the elephant and he began to shrink back to his initial little doggy size. Obviously, the story was about problems being ignored that just get bigger unless they are acknowledged.
Now the word jargon has a couple of different meanings:
The specialized language of a trade, profession, or similar group, especially when viewed as difficult to understand by outsiders.
That definition is rather reasonable and not pejorative. A computer geek may use language about his work that is Greek to me. But then Greek is Greek to me as well, though it's perfectly comprehensible to someone raised in Greece. I don't understand Russian or Gaelic either. In fact, the only language I speak fluently is English. I have a smattering of French and Spanish, but not enough to converse, and that's about it.
The Bible has fascinated authors throughout history and many have adopted its themes pretty explicitly in their fiction. Rosemary's Baby has an inverted birth of Christ episode near the end when the devil's baby is born and three men come to visit. The inversion is pretty obvious in the film as well as the book.
A number of authors have used bible phrases as their book titles. It's interesting to me that every now and then when I'm reading the Bible I come across a phrase and think, "That would make a great title for a novel." The one I saw yesterday was in the book of Isaiah which I'm reading for Advent. The phrase was "abode of jackals." Now wouldn't that make a great title for a story about a dysfunctional family that are consuming one another through greed, jealousy, and hate. What a challenge to figure out how to redeem one or all of the characters. Sigrid Undset could have done it. She was a master of the human dilemma and the impact of sin and grace. Or how about a spy novel with a hero trying to prevent a terrorist attack by a cell of foreign agents working for an enemy country. And then again couldn't Agatha Christie turn that title into a fascinating murder mystery!
Every family has traditions associated with special days: Christmas, birthdays, Easter, etc. One tradition of our family when our children were growing up was celebrating a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. We generally went to the vigil Mass and then came home to a big dinner: roast beef, mashed potatoes, an assortment of sides, and a big birthday cake. After dinner we would have a procession around the house singing Christmas carols and ending at the nativity scene. The youngest carried Baby Jesus to place in the manger. The other children carried candles. I think we may even have carried the cake. Did we sing Happy Birthday when we reached the stable? I can't remember, but we always sang Away in the Manger as the youngest placed the baby in the crib. What a happy evening that was with candlelight and song, and a big slice of birthday cake.
Today begins the last prep for Christmas, the seven O Antiphons. They bring the holy day into focus in a big way. O Come Emmanuel is the hymn of the O Antiphons. Today is also the first of the December ember days. So we have abundant opportunities to make this last week before Christmas a time of magnifying our preparation. Even if we've had an Advent with too much emphasis on the secular preparations with decorating and baking, we can spend this last week decorating our hearts and turning up the heat of love for the little King.
When I was on the parish council at St. Louis in Alexandria, the pastor wanted us all to take the test. I think I came out as an ENFJ, although, if I remember correctly the N and S and the T and F were pretty close. But I'm definitely an extrovert and I like closure, so the J was accurate as well. That put me at odds with the pastor who came out with the same letters except he was a P. He was also a liberal so clashes between us were inevitable. But one of the most frustrating things was that he seemed never to care whether the council decided anything or not. We talked a lot at the meetings (yadda yadda), but rarely decided anything.
Year ago a friend sent me a Christmas ornament of Juan Diego. Today I put him and a small metal image of Our Lady on the Christmas tree. I love to reflect on the tender words of Mary to her little son:
“Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest and dearest son, that the thing that frightens you, the thing that afflicts you, is nothing: do not let it disturb you…Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more? Let nothing else worry you or disturb you.”
Today my husband and I will travel over the mountain to visit friends in Luray for lunch. Our friendship grew out of our connection through the Chesterton book club. Over the years it has deepened and we always laugh a lot and commiserate a little when we get together.
Do you pray to a God who is in heaven and distant from you? When you receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist or go and worship Him in the tabernacle or monstrance, do you see Him as out there and over there?
Mary, Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces, is the Scourge of the Demons and Destroyer of all heresies. She is our twelve-star general and God has given her immense power against evil.
St. John the Baptist is a major Advent voice preparing the way for the birth of Jesus on Christmas day. Today, we heard in the Gospel (TLM) the moment, when in prison, John sent his disciples to ask Christ a question. "Shall we look for another?" I have no doubt that John already knew the answer to that question. So why did he ask it? I think he wanted to wean his disciples from himself and turn them to Christ. His "voice in the wilderness" was about to go silent and he wanted his little band of brothers to follow the One whose sandal he was not fit to unloose.
This post examines the final lecture by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning about the Crisis in the Holy See. Remember, he was writing near the end of the 19th century during the nationalistic upheavals in Europe, but history tends to repeat itself. Much in these four lectures can easily apply to our own time although the threats are coming from within the Church these days as much as outside. Check out my previous posts and read the entire document. The cardinal's prose is easy to understand and he turns often to the doctors of the Church and to well known theologians.
Lecture 1 - Introduction to the Crisis: the Revolt
I received this email yesterday from former General Assembly delegate Bob Marshall. Remember when the Richmond FBI sent agents out to see if those evil traditional Catholic terrorists were planning anything? Well, now the head spook is in charge. It looks like a tough four years coming. I haven't read the report yet, but plan to. Expect persecution; it's biblical! It's 1984 on Animal Farm and Big Sister will be the boss sow in the pigpen. Nevertheless, Pray, hope, and don't worry. With struggle comes strength.
Did you ever hire someone to do a job and found out later that it was slipshod or cut corners? Unfortunately that's happened to us more than once, sometimes, sadly, with a person we knew personally and thought was a friend. A rotting window sash was "replaced" by just covering up the rot. A paint job was so embarrassing I still look at it and shake my head.
I try to remember every morning -- when I sit up in bed and plant my feet on the floor -- to begin the day with a litany of gratitude. It was easy today. I thanked God for central heating (It's really cold this morning.) and for giving gifts to the inventors who've make our modern life so comfortable.
Every vaccinated individual participating in the study had amyloid microclots circulating in their bloodstream. "94% of all participants were vaccinated. 100% of these vaccinated individuals had amyloid microclots — including every 'healthy control.'”
No tests were done to determine whether subjects ever had the actual COVID disease according to an article about the study by NICOLAS HULSCHER, MPH. The authors simply presumed it. But the data is inconclusive on that score because:
Life is often filled with challenges and sometimes they seem overwhelming. This has been a rough year for many reasons, so the other day, I just started singing a song from Auntie Mame. I definitely "need a little Christmas!" so we set up the tree. Larry dragged up the canvas bag and out came the pre-lit evergreen. We gave up on real trees about ten years ago when we just got too old and tired to deal with getting down on the floor to water it every day and cleaning up all the pine needles. I've never regretted it.
What is the "New Evangelization?" In light of Pope Francis scolding people for "proselytizing" and synodal clerics bragging about never baptizing an indigenous person, not to mention the messages that all faiths are paths to salvation....what exactly is the "New Evangelization?" Is there such a thing? Do we find it in Abu Dhabi with its monuments to Judaism, Islam, and, by the way, Christianity?
Cremation jewelry? Christmas tree ornaments?
Hey! You can hang Nana on your Christmas tree. Or how about wearing Daddy around your neck or in ear rings.
A locket with hair is one thing, but wearing the ashes of the dead in a pendant?
We are certainly living in a weird world.
To read my post on Lecture 1 go here.
On to Lecture 2!
In his second lecture on The Present Crisis in the Holy See, Cardinal Manning focuses on the nature of the Antichrist. At the time, some writers claimed that the Antichrist would not be an individual person, but a corporate group or spirit. Refuting that belief, the cardinal looked to the number of Apostles, Fathers of the Church, etc. who disputed that interpretation. He quotes St. Robert Bellarmine saying, “All Catholics hold that Antichrist will be one individual person.”...the Fathers, with unanimous consent, teach as undoubted, that Antichrist will be a Jew.2 Ribera repeats the same opinion, and adds that Aretas, St. Bede, Haymo, St. Anselm, and Rupert affirm that for this reason the tribe of Dan is not numbered among those who are sealed in the Apocalypse.3 Wiegas says the same, quoting other authorities.4 And this will appear probable, if we consider that the Antichrist will come to deceive the Jews, according to the prophecy of our Lord: “I am come in My Father's name, and you receive Me not : another will come in his own name, him you will receive;” which words are interpreted by the Fathers with one consent of the false Messias, who shall pass himself off upon the Jews as the true. And this, again, is the unanimous interpretation of the Fathers, both of the East and of the West, as St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Ephrem Syrus, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Gregory Nyssen, St. John Damascene, and also of St. Irenaeus, St. Cyprian, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine.https://www.britannica.com/topic/spiritualism-religion
We all have our favorite books that we think everyone should read, both novels and non-fiction. I could probably name a hundred that I think need to be on your Don't Miss This! list. Why? Because they help us understand what's going on in the world and how to respond to it. I'll start with only ten of my favorite books in a two-part post. Every one is worth reading more than once and reflected upon. Each has prophetic elements that strike the tocsin, the warning bell. We would do well to pay attention!
Are these abortions safe, legal, and rare? Legal, yes, in most places. And even in states where they aren't, little can be done to stop them. Are they rare? No. In 2023, the estimate was that six out of ten abortions (600,000 or more) were by pill.
I recently came across the quote above from Cardinal Manning. Frankly, I never quite trust anything I see in a Facebook meme, so I looked for the source. The cardinal's statement appeared in a collection of lectures:
The hypocrisy of the Left never fails to astound me, although at this point it shouldn't. If a leftist opens his/her/it's/theirs/cis/xyr/etc. mouth, he/she/they/etc. is either lying, spouting a stream of obscenities, or engaging in a tsunami of hypocrisy.
A West Virginia state senator, Chris Rose, is floating a proposal to invite 27 Virginia counties and several from Maryland to secede. I am so ready to join the great state of West Virginia! Now that would be a marriage made in heaven: the lovers of Virginia embracing the freedom-loving patriots of West Virginia! Not only that, my husband is a West Virginia boy and would love to call his birthplace home once again. Bring it on!
Marriage in the Jewish religion involved two stages, the betrothal and the formal wedding ceremony. The betrothal bound the couple in a covenantal relationship which could not be broken except by divorce. While the couple did not live together, they were married. Let me repeat that. Mary and Joseph were married! The later wedding ceremony ratified the relationship. After the formal marriage, the bride moved in with her spouse and they consummated the marriage.
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| Alaric escorts the Christian treasures of Rome to safety at Saint Peter's Basilica during the Gothic sack of AD 410. |
The United States prepares to celebrate 250 years of existence. [See the White House announcement.] Drag out the flags and bunting and decorate the house! But is the primary song to be sung, Happy Birthday, or will it be a Dies Irae for our funeral?
First Notre Dame
Is there anything shameful the administration at Notre Dame won't do? They gave Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion, divisive, bigoted president in history (Am I exaggerating?) an honorary law degree and the privilege of being their 2009 commencement speaker. Obama's entourage met a crowd of protesters including a friend of mine who was arrested and had to spend the next year traveling back and forth from Texas to deal with the draconian tactics used against those arrested some of whom weren't even on campus. President John Jenkins, the baby-faced villain of that debacle is gone, but Notre Dame continues on its pathetic and anti-Catholic trajectory.
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| Writing an "I'm thankful" message on the holiday tablecloth. |
Thanksgiving approaches. For many it's just a day of gluttony: food for the belly and football for the eyes -- two f words. Throw in a third -- no not that one -- fun. For many that's the meaning of life. Find all the fun you can in food, frolicking and you know what.
Celery soup is a staple in a number of recipes I make regularly. Cheesy potatoes occupies a regular place on the Sunday brunch table and it calls for a can of cream of chicken soup. I always used celery soup instead. Now I make my own. I also like tomato soup and used to gourmet-up canned soup with tomato chunks, basil, wine, and some other herbs. Now I make it from scratch.
The understanding of integral man as a covenantal being helps to bring into focus the profound spirit of self-abnegation (kenosis) to which God the Son committed Himself in the sacred mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption (It needs to be emphasized here that the Incarnation and Redemption are sacred mysteries, and not merely sacred historical events. As mysteries, they continue to engage and transform humanity throughout all of history). If God originally created man as a covenantal being, then the mystery of the Incarnation would require that God the Son take to Himself a covenantal human nature. In such a nature, the work of redemption is a covenantal mission and ministry. (It should be noted that this covenantal human nature, which God the Son embraced, was in stark contrast to the more aloof and hermetically-sealed type of spirituality embraced by many of the Pharisees) And it is shared in such a way that both Jesus and His beloved disciples participate in the struggles, sufferings, frustrations and glorification involved in the mystery of human redemption from the power of sin.
Yesterday, I mentioned an article by Chloe Mastour at Chronicles. I'm re-reading it this morning because I think it's so important. It exposes a serious problem in our society -- humanity's submission to shallow consensus thinking. We saw it during COVID. How many people actually did the research on what was essentially an experimental therapy that we see now damaged the immune system and crossed the brain/blood barrier to wreak havoc on the population. [That statement will no doubt get me censored by the Blogger blathering fact checkers. So I'm posting at Substack where people can provide evidence without the facts being labeled misleading and a violation of B's woke guidelines.]
Conservatism Amid the Signal Flood
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| Stop and think! |
Wow! Too true!
What author Chloe Mastour describes isn't just evident in political disagreements. It seems to be the default position today in many areas and is particularly evident on social media. Many adopt fixed and unchangeable positions. No amount of reasoned argument can touch them. And sometimes those with opposite views, are equally fixed and unchangeable.
I double post these days because of Blogger's censorship. Check out my free Substack website.
I'm reading the recent document on the Blessed Mother released by the Vatican Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith. If you haven't heard of it yet, this document crushes the movement to declare Mary Coredemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces. How low that office has fallen under its new prefect, the scandalous Cardinal Fernandez of kissing fame.
Readers can now see my posts on Substack which is friendlier than blogger. See this post there and please subscribe. A fellow member at Substack tells me they have never censored one of his posts. The B in Blogger stands for Bigot. If they dump me altogether, meet me at Substack.
Candidates who illustrate the assassination culture of the Democrat party swept Virginia yesterday. New York and New Jersey did no better. As for California, Gavin Newsom got the green light to gerrymander the state before the midterms to secure and maintain Democrat seats at the national, state and local levels.
What now?
Lesbian woman's outrage against Muslim immigrants in the U.S. goes viral after Pride parade ban.
Silly woman, are you so totally ignorant of Islam that you didn't know they execute homosexuals in many countries where they rule? Poor lady feels betrayed because she helped them get all the goodies paid for by the taxpayers and this is her reward. She will no doubt be happy when they crack down on Christians, but her alphabet allies? That's a horse of a rainbow color.
Let the true patriots win.
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| Jason Miyares |
