Twelve Days of Christmas

by Father John McCloskey

One of the delights of studying for the priesthood in Rome (many decades ago now) was the opportunity to experience the reality of the complete Christmas season: one that did not begin with a mass-market assault on Thanksgiving evening and build to a consuming crescendo on Christmas Day, but instead began with Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and continued for eleven days after December 25.

During this time – the "Twelve Days" of Christmas carol fame – the Church celebrates many significant feast days that help us to go deeper into the celebration of Our Lord's nativity and our understanding of his coming to secure the means of our salvation. Through his birth of the Virgin Mary, the new Eve who by her Yes to God and His archangel became the means of ushering our Savior into the world, Christ began his earthly journey to his death for us on Cavalry some 33 years later, and his resurrection from the dead three days after that.

But from Christmas to the Baptism of Our Lord we are still marking the infancy of Christ's incarnation among us. The feast days that occur during this season have various things to say to us, some consistent with tidings of comfort and joy, and some more alarming.

Let's take a look at the Twelve Days of Christmas with a view to how families, our friends, and we can celebrate them and prolong them to our spiritual benefit – and maybe be the last person on your block this year to throw out the Christmas tree!

Although the stores will be moving on as soon as they toss out the wreaths and tinsel after briefly shutting down for Christmas Day, we should use this time to prepare for a new year of joyful, heart-to-heart sharing of our faith with family, friends, and coworkers. Last but most important, our aim is to be alter Christus –another Christ – to all those who surround us day by day.

The Christmas octave opens on December 25 each year. The second day of the octave celebrates St. Stephen, the first martyr, a vivid reminder that Christ came to earth to die and that we too must be ready to suffer and even surrender our lives if need be someday for our faith. In our own time, we are confronted with the knowledge of the great number of our fellow Christians who are actively undergoing persecution, particularly in parts of Africa and Asia. We pray for their steadfastness under threat of imprisonment, torture, and death, and we pray that, like Stephen, our embattled fellow-Christians will also be capable of forgiving and willing the conversion and salvation of their persecutors.

On December 27 we celebrate St. John the Evangelist, the "apostle whom Jesus loved," and the only apostle who did not die a martyr's death, although tradition tells us he was subjected to physical persecution and the setting for the Book of Revelation is the island of Patmos, to which he was exiled. Of course, we also know that St. John was the author of the fourth Gospel and the one to whom Our Lord entrusted the care of his mother.

On the 28th, we shift back to contemplation of the Holy Family in those early days in Bethlehem. What a scene, as they prepare to take flight to Egypt to escape Herod's attempt to slay the newborn King! This Feast of the Holy Innocents is also a reminder of how, in our country, marriage is under attack and helpless babies are massacred daily through abortion throughout our country.

The fifth day of the Christmas season marks the feast of another martyr, St. Thomas à Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, who was killed because he refused to give in to a king (Henry II) who defied the Church of Rome. As another Thomas (St. Thomas More) put it who defied another Henry (Henry VIII) some centuries later, he died "the king's good servant, but God's first." Here is another all-too-relevant example of someone willing to bear the price of fidelity to his faith.

On January 1, we celebrate the solemnity of the Holy Mother of God. As Chesterton wrote, we serve a mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed.

This year the Baptism of the Lord falls on January 4. This is a wonderful moment for us to give thanks for the sacrament of Baptism that makes us forever a child of God called to eternal glory with him in heaven.

If you are a parent, you might explain to your children the significance of each day of the octave, so they can better experience the richness of our Church's liturgical year. Perhaps you can also use online venues or EWTN to see the various liturgies of the season taking place in Rome and presided over by our Holy Father Pope Francis.

Make this Christmas the best ever by following day by day the various feast days during the twelve days of Christmas; as you enter into their meaning, they will help you grow deeper in love of that child in the manger who came to save us from Satan's power. Remember, any Christmas, including this one, could be your last: We do not know the day or the hour when we will be called to our permanent home in heaven, so make the best of this opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior!

First appeared on The Catholic Thing on December 26, 2014.

FAMILIES, BECOME WHO YOU ARE!

This is a reflection from December 28 - the feast of the Holy Family.


The headlines read: “A Pregnant Man: It’s Incredible!” “He’s Having Their Baby!” “Pregnant Man Stuns Medical Profession.” The whole frenzy is over the story of a man, Thomas Beatie, living in with a woman, who decided that he will be the one who will get pregnant since the woman had her womb removed by hysterectomy (because she thinks she’s a man). But reading through the article, we discover that “he” (Thomas), is actually a “she.” So much for media sensationalism.

Thomas Beatie was born Tracy Lagondino, a woman who decided she wanted to be a man. She had her breasts surgically removed (mutilated is the proper word), and began injecting herself with large doses of testosterone to make herself look and sound like a man. And so came the transformation — she became a he. From the Tracy Lagondino story, we learn that truth is not a matter of personal opinion. Truth does not depend on what one feels or sees. She may look and feel like a man, but deep inside, she is still the woman God created and intended her to be. That’s why she became pregnant.

Today, many countries debate over the real definition of marriage and the family. Should it really be between a man and a woman? The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen is known to have once said, “Truth is truth even if no one believes it. Error is error even if everybody believes it.” Truth is not subjective, i.e., what I feel or think. Truth is primarily objective, based on the reality and nature of a thing — the natural moral law.

We say that the family is the basic unit of society because the family is pre-political. Before there was even a government or state, the family was there already. In a sense, the family is above the state. It is not the State that defines the family; on the contrary, it is the family that occasioned the creation of the State. The State’s reason for being is to protect the institution of the family. Thus, it is not for the state to define the nature of the family.

Let this be the grace that we ask from God today, on the feast of the Holy Family.

~ Fr. Joel Jason

A little prayer

Jesus, as the world prepares to go back to the normal routine of everyday work, help me to discover the significance of Your coming — for me, as an individual. Amen.

Faith in Action Keeps it Strong and Alive

Reflections
Fr. Shay Cullen
PREDA Foundation

Christmas is the celebration of the family, the birth of Jesus and his great mission to lead the world from sin, vice and cruelty to a kingdom where people are free to live a life of virtue and goodness. Here we can be members of God’s family and strive for friendship, justice, love and peace. What a great and beautiful ideal.

The family is under great pressure these days as the cellphone, the Internet and social media spread so much negative influences from child pornography, extortion, bullying and sexual grooming and abuse.

Evil has its tentacles wrapped around the minds and hearts of our youth and adults through these technological means of communication. The youth have to be helped to resist and throw off these influences and embrace a life of virtue. Adults too are under great temptation. There is even a website that encourages people to sign up to have an adulterous relationship, designed to destroy families and leave children without united parents.

Yet there are millions of families that are rooted in deep Christian values of love, faithfulness and compassionate concern that helps the abused, exploited people. But these too are under pressure as society is becoming more secular, frivolous and prone to vice, materialism, corruption and crime.

Love as a spiritual experience of unselfish friendship is hard to find these days. Today they are easily overwhelmed by the selfish satisfaction of personal desires, greed and lust. The great ideal of service of others through volunteering without asking payments, rewards, praise and entitlements is diminishing. The age when thousands of young people answered the call to dedicate their lives to the service for the poor and the downtrodden is coming to an end. The age of the cheater, swindler, manipulator, betrayer and unfaithful is here.

Those who strive to lead a good and virtuous life have to strengthen their belief in eternal goodness and the sanctity of life, love, family and true faithful friends. Goodness abounds but it is not organized into a strong movement that could overwhelm the march of evil and corrupt practices of injustice and torture and abuse. Silence of the good people has given a kind of consent to the triumph of evil in today’s world. As Jesus said, we have to shout it from the roof tops and take a principled stand for what is right and just.

The enemy of the people is clearly seen in the corruption, graft, kickback and plunder of the people’s taxes by the dynastic families. The bad example from leaders permeates society and corrupts all around it. Justice is tainted and criminals go free. The incompetence of corrupt governance is apparent everywhere.

The recent expose of the beaten and starving naked children lying on the cement ground like the victims of Auschwitz at the Manila children’s detention center called RAC (Reception and Action Center) caused outrage but not enough. The children photographed looked like the skeletal victims of Auschwitz. I wrote about them recently and the horrors they endured. The social workers, managers and those sworn to help them allegedly betrayed the children and their profession. Allegations of pilfered money needed for the children’s food abound but are denied. Unqualified, underpaid staff are part of the abuse. The case of Francisco is just one of many examples of starved and tortured children as revealed this week by Amnesty International in Manila. Several of the victims of torture mentioned in the report (see www.preda.org ) were interviewed in the safety of the Preda Foundation’s children’s home for rescued children in Olongapo City.

When I came as a Columban Missionary from Ireland to the Philippines forty five year ago, I saw this terrible hardship of the children in jail. I set up Preda Foundation to give them a new, happier life and try to end the torture and abuse. It seems we saved hundreds but failed, so far, to change the systematic abuse of jailed children, illegal as it is.

In the Preda homes, they are recovering from their traumatic abuse and told their stories of torture to researchers from Amnesty International. Most of the children were rescued by Preda social workers and myself from government detention jails. Readers can help save many more.

Social services and NGOs have not remained untouched. Some have fallen into the darkness of selfish gain, dishonesty, unfaithfulness and greed. They abandon too easily and too quickly the values they vowed loudly to uphold and defend. The malaise of the world of selfishness and greed has damaged and led astray even some of those that once worked for the higher causes of defending human rights, helping the poor and restoring the dignity of the abused.

It’s no wonder the faithful, virtuous good men and women are treasures to society, the hope of the nation and the true defenders of human rights and abused children. We can oppose and defeat evil by being faithful, honest, generous, kind, respectful of all and put our faith into action and keep it strong by serving and helping the needy children this Christmas and always.

shaycullen@preda.org

A PINCH IN THE HEART: A CHRISTMAS DAY REFLECTION

By: Bobby Quitain

When our son Franco received his gifts for Christmas the other night, he couldn't stopped thanking us. While his endless "thank yous" did not add value to his gratitude, it added inexplicable warmth in our hearts. The voluntary and almost instinctive "Thank you, Papang and Mama" which echoed from his lips throughout the night as he played with his toys evoked unmatched joy within us --- a delightful pinch in the heart, you might say. "So this is how it feels for someone to really, really thank you", I said to myself.

And then it dawned on me. Have I ever really, really thanked God enough?

For exchanging his throne for a manger...

His scepter for a cross...

His palace for a stable...

His glory for indignity...

His honor for shame...all for my sake?

I don't think so.

How often do I undermine his sacrifice with the way I live my life?

For uttering careless words that tear down instead of build up?

Or thinking unholy thoughts?

Or turning away when I should have helped?

Or walking away rather than indulge?

On this Christmas season, I wish I can be like Franco --- really grateful to my Father. For loving me. For blessing me. For saving me.

And may my life reflect that gratitude. Let every time that I say no to temptation or sacrifice for the good of another be my expression of thanks for what God has done for me on that first Christmas day. May my endless "thank yous" to my heavenly Father be what Franco's endless "thank yous" to me were --- an inexplicable yet delightful pinch in the heart.

I pray the same for you.

Have a blessed Christmas, my friend!

Today's Mass Readings - Sunday, December 28, 2014 with Reflection

Feast of the Holy Family

1^ST READING - Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3

1 The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great.” 2But Abram said, “O Lord God, what good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?” 3 Abram continued, “See, you have given me no offspring, and so one of my servants will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “No, that one shall not be your heir; your own issue shall be your heir.” 5 The Lord took Abram outside and said: “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” 6 Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. 21: 1 The Lord took note of Sarah as he had said he would; he did for her as he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him.

P S A L M - Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

R: The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

1 Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. 2 Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. (R) 3 Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord! 4 Look to the Lord in his strength; constantly seek his face. (R) 6 You descendants of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! 7 He, the Lord, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments prevail. (R) 8 He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations 9 which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac. (R)

2^ND READING - Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19

8 Brothers and sisters: By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. 11 By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age — and Sarah herself was sterile — for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. 12 So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” 19 He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.

Luke 2:22-40

22 When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, 23 just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” 24 and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 27 He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, 28he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: 29 “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” 33 The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; 34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted 35 (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” 36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer. 38 And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled withwisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

SABBATH

FAMILIES, BECOME WHO YOU ARE! The headlines read: “A Pregnant Man: It’s Incredible!” “He’s Having Their Baby!” “Pregnant Man Stuns Medical Profession.” The whole frenzy is over the story of a man, Thomas Beatie, living in with a woman, who decided that he will be the one who will get pregnant since the woman had her womb removed by hysterectomy (because she thinks she’s a man). But reading through the article, we discover that “he” (Thomas), is actually a “she.” So much for media sensationalism.          Thomas Beatie was born Tracy Lagondino, a woman who decided she wanted to be a man. She had her breasts surgically removed (mutilated is the proper word), and began injecting herself with large doses of testosterone to make herself look and sound like a man. And so came the transformation — she became a he. From the Tracy Lagondino story, we learn that truth is not a matter of personal opinion. Truth does not depend on what one feels or sees. She may look and feel like a man, but deep inside, she is still the woman God created and intended her to be. That’s why she became pregnant.          Today, many countries debate over the real definition of marriage and the family. Should it really be between a man and a woman? The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen is known to have once said, “Truth is truth even if no one believes it. Error is error even if everybody believes it.” Truth is not subjective, i.e., what I feel or think. Truth is primarily objective, based on the reality and nature of a thing — the natural moral law.           We say that the family is the basic unit of society because the family is pre-political. Before there was even a government or state, the family was there already. In a sense, the family is above the state. It is not the State that defines the family; on the contrary, it is the family that occasioned the creation of the State. The State’s reason for being is to protect the institution of the family. Thus, it is not for the state to define the nature of the family.          Let this be the grace that we ask from God today, on the feast of the Holy Family. Fr. Joel Jason REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is your idea of the truth subjective? Do you act on the basis of what is convenient for you? Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see the beauty of Your truth.

Holy Family, pray for us.

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25 popes insist you read this saint . . .

25 popes consider him the Church's preeminent theologian... …because he saw truths about God, our Faith, and the Christian life which had never been seen before. "His teachings could have come only from a miraculous invention by God," said Pope John XXII Pope Leo XIII said his teachings are "so vast they contain all the wisdom that flows from the ancients." But do you have time to read the 3,000 pages in his Summa Theologica? I don't. Can you comprehend the abstract philosophical terms he uses in On Being and Essence? I can't. Perhaps you, like me, desire to be taught by such a great philosopher as Thomas Aquinas, but feel he is well beyond your reach. Not anymore. In these pages, veteran Catholic author Dr. Kevin Vost provides you with simple, readable explanations of St. Thomas's life-giving wisdom. Karl Keating says this book offers St. Thomas's arguments in "bite-sized chunks that anyone can digest." Peter Kreeft says it will take you from "confusion to clarity, from chaos to order." In this book's lucid pages, you'll read small, digestible portions of St. Thomas's answers to questions such as . . .  — Why do souls need the sacraments? — Why didn't Jesus write the Bible himself? — What are simple proofs of God's existence? — What is heaven, and what is it not? — Why did Jesus allow himself to be crucified?  — How can I grow quickly in virtue? — Who are the angels and what are their powers? — What is God's power and its limits? — Why did God become man? — Why did Jesus allow himself to be tempted? And you'll learn countless, but quick, refutations to the relativistic and secular ideas that are so destructive in our culture today. We're not all called to be intellectuals, but we are called to have an ever deeper understanding of the Faith. As Fr. Dwight Longenecker said: "For clarity choose Aquinas.  For clarity on Aquinas, choose The One-Minute Aquinas. The One-Minute Aquinas by Dr. Kevin Vost 304 Pages - List Price: $19.95 Order online HERE Save 30% when you order the set: Regular Price: $39.90 Order the set  at this link for only $27.99 Discover, understand, and perfect the ten talents God gave you. Beginning with the Gospel parable of the talents – which were buried in the ground by some, and multiplied by others – Kevin Vost here unearths a treasure for those who are struggling to live a life of Christian virtue: the ten particular talents that God has given each of us as our own . . . to bury . . . or to multiply for our own good and the good of the Kingdom. Guided especially by St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the Church’s greatest teachers, as well as by Fathers of the Church and the example of many saints, Vost explains how you can discover, understand, and perfect each of your own ten talents. In the process, you will develop your noble ability to reason, strengthen your faculties of mind, perfect your physical capacities for beauty of form and grace, nurture your ability to act angelically, and prepare yourself to live that life which is proper to a being made in the image of God. Do you know what your ten talents are? Do you know what God wants you to do with your life? As He gave ten talents to each of the souls in the parable, so He has given ten particular talents to you. Don’t ignore them any longer, or leave them buried.  Let Kevin Vost help you unearth them, and show you how to multiply them a hundredfold. Save 30% when you order the set HERE Order online above, or call 1-800-888-9344 www.SophiaInstitute.com Save up to 40% when you join Sophia's

Fr. John McCloskey Christmas Message for 2014

Dear Friends and Subscribers to My Website,

Below is my Christmas message for 2014. Please pardon all the "I" words that inevitably follow—all the Glory to God!

A merry Christmas to you all and a holy New Year! Count on my prayers!

The close of 2014 finds me still in northern California. What have I been up to, you may ask? The usual:

• Praying, preaching retreats
• Hearing numerous confessions
• Giving spiritual direction to many
• Celebrating the sacraments
• Cycling and doing power pushups when I can (hard to find squash players and courts in CA, but I manage!).

During the past year, I also wrote over 50 pieces published in assorted venues (newspapers, journals, and online), in addition to blurbs and forewords for several soon-to-be published books. I continue writing regularly for The Catholic Thing, the National Catholic Register, Chronicles, Human Life International, position papers Ireland, and among other venues, including and published in other languages.

In addition, I continue appearing on many radio shows, secular and religious, throughout the country.

I have accomplished much of this with the indispensable help of my ace editor, a fine writer herself (better than me!), Ellen Fielding, to whom I remain humbly thankful and fully obedient. (Hope she continues to think so—she is essential to my work.)

Other occasional writings, along with MP3s and MP4s, have been archived on my website at:

http://www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/

Also to be found on my website is information on Good News, Bad News, my book from Ignatius Press; The Essential Belloc, from Saint Benedict Press; and most recently, a reissued version of Robert Hugh Benson's Lord of the World, with my long preface on its prophetic presentation of the end of the world. (Even Pope Francis has read this book!) In addition I wrote a new foreword for the late Dr. Bernard Nathanson's now-classic work, The Hand of God, published by Regnery, as well as a foreword for When Faith Goes Viral, compiled by my good friend Philip Lawler and published by Crossroad Publishing. To close the year out I wrote the foreword for Remembering Belloc, written by my good friend Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.

By the time you receive this email, a new book on American converts to Catholicism will have been published, with foreword and afterword by Yours Truly. Keep an eye out for it—it should be in every Catholic library. You will be surprised as you read this book by how many people became Catholics—and not only on their deathbed! The book is available from Fidelity Press online.

In addition, all seven of my TV series (so far!) now can be ordered from EWTN as DVDs or CDs, or they can be downloaded from the EWTN website as free mp3s.

To see my most recent writings, visit my website at FrMcCloskey.com and look under "recent." On my website you can also opt-in to receive my writings from my website as they appear (http://www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/subscribe), at no charge.

Please recommend it to your many friends. As you know, it's free!

I continue to act as an adviser to Christendom College and to the Cardinal Newman Society, both near my baptismal home in Virginia. I am also an  advisor to the Culture of Life Foundation.

Special thanks to Robert Royal, my patient patron at the Faith and Reason Institute in DC, and to Bud Macfarlane and his trusty sidekick Tim Harrison, who sponsor me on Catholicity.com.

Please stay in touch if you can, and if you have not done so recently, send me your updated home and business addresses, your cell phone number, wedding anniversary date, and birthdate in 10/12/53 format, as well as the birthdate of your spouse. This helps me to remember you particularly in prayer!

Also, a good .jpg or .gif of yourself and/or your family would help me in praying for your intentions.

With prayers and affection,

Fr. John McCloskey

Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord - Thursday, December 25, 2014 with Reflection

1^ST READING - Isaiah 52:7-10

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, “Your God is King!” 8Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the Lord restoring Zion. 9Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord comforts his people, he redeems Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God.

P S A L M - Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6

R: All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The Lord has made his salvation known; in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. (R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R) 5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. 6With trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the Lord. (R)

2^ND READING - Hebrews 1:1-6

1 Brothers and sisters: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; 2 in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, 3who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are my son; this day I have begotten you?” Or again: “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me?” 6 And again, when he leads the first-born into the world, he says: “Let all the angels of God worship him.”

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. For today a great light has come upon the earth.

John 1:1-18

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be 4 through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; 5 the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 A man named John was sent from God. 7 He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. 12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, 17 because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

SABBATH

THANK YOU, EMMANUEL! It was 2:30 a.m., a Sunday, and I was sound asleep. Suddenly, I was awakened by a commotion: people shouting, children crying, things breaking. The large squatter area beside our seminary was being razed by fire, the second in a six-month span. My immediate reaction was, “Not again, not this hour, not on a Sunday!” But there we were, the whole seminary, playing firemen, assisting the people, giving them temporary shelter. When it was all over, I had to remind myself, “When it comes to doing a good thing, there is no such thing as wrong timing. Surrendering one’s comfort is inseparable from loving.”        If surrendering one’s comfort is inseparable from loving, consider what comfort God had to give up in becoming one with humanity. The Jesuit Horacio dela Costa, in an essay called “The Paradox of Christmas” said it most eloquently. Let me quote a few choice lines:      Was there ever a house more topsy-turvy than the House of Christmas, the cave where Christ was born?        For here, suddenly, in the very heart of Earth, is Heaven; down is up and up is down, the angels and the stars look down on God who made them, and God looks up at the things He made.        There is no room in an inn for Him who made room, and to spare, for the Milky Way; and where God is homeless, all men are at home.        We were promised a Savior, but we never dreamed that God himself would come to save us. We knew that He loved us, but we never dared to think that He loved us so much as to become like us.        But that is the way God gives. His gifts are never quite what we expect, but always something better than we hoped for.        We can only dream of things too good to be true; God has a habit of giving things too good to be false.        As we celebrate Christmas, pause, and in a moment of sincere prayer, thank Jesus for all these undeserved gifts. Fr. Joel Jason REFLECTION QUESTIONS: When your planned “self-time” is interrupted by an unplanned opportunity for loving another, how do you react? Is your goodness/charity “scheduled”? What return can I make, O Lord, for the good You have done? I can only take up the cup of salvation, and call upon Your name. Amen.

St. Eugenia, pray for us.

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Some Catholic Christmas fun facts

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/smays/4427883583/

BY AL VARGO

Did you know...?

The word 'Christmas' comes from old English, the Mass of Christ or Christ's Mass. Even the word 'holiday' is derived from the phrase 'Holy Day'.

Santa Claus IS St. Nicholas (6th Century Bishop of Myra--modern day Turkey).
St. Nick went around throwing coins into the homes of poor people at Christmas.
“Santa Claus” is the English corruption of the Norwegian “Sinter (Saint) Cholas (Nicholas)”
Bishop Nicholas would toss coins through windows into the homes of people in need. Legend says that some coins bounced into the stockings a family had drying by the fireplace, the basis of the modern custom of hanging stockings by the mantle for Santa to fill.

Candy canes are shaped as shepherd's staffs, because Jesus is the Good Shepherd. They are traditional red and white striped, the white symbolizing the purity of Jesus, the sacrificial lamb. The red symbolizing the blood the Lamb shed for our sins. And the candy cane upside down looks like the letter 'J' for Jesus. And too, the stripes call to mind the prophecy of Isaiah “by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

The Holly bush used for wreaths is a thorny bush, marking the crown of thorns He wore during His Passion. The red berries of the holly represent the drops of His blood.

The Christmas tree is an evergreen, to remind us of God's everlasting love. The star on top of the tree symbolizes the star of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem in English means "House of Bread"
"I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will never go hungry". (John 6:35)
"Take this Bread and eat it, It IS my body..." (Mark 14:22) 
The Manger, Christ's first crib, was a lamb's feed box
"Behold the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world" (John 1:29)
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51)
So, the living Bread was delivered to the House of bread in a food dish for His sheep to eat.

The stable He was born in was actually a cave
Because of the terrain and natural conditions of the area, the ancient peoples of
Israel had primarily stone buildings, and used natural caves as much as possible.
You can still visit the cave of Christ's birth if you visit the Holy Land--It is a major Shrine and tourist attraction.

It is proper to use 'X-mas' as an abbreviation
The practice goes back to the early monks’ writings. The X is really the
Greek Letter Chi (pronounced kie) which was the symbol for Christ--the 1st letter of 'Christos'.

Christ might have been born in the Spring
Unlike other religions, as the early Church expanded, rather than crush the cultures they met; they worked to
incorporate their practices for easier assimilation. Some believe that Dec. 25 was picked as the Feast day
of Christ (Christ-mas) because of the pagan's celebrating of the winter solstice. The Christmas tree was similarly absorbed from the Romans Solstice branch, and the German's Yule Log.

Who sang the song "You're a mean one Mr. Grinch" in the cartoon?
No, not Boris Karloff. Karloff was the only person given voice credit in the film, even though many people were involved.
The singer of the famous song is Thurl Ravenscroft--better known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in the cereal commercials.
(Remember--'They'rrrrrrrrrre Great!!!)

The Origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas
You're all familiar with the Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" I think.
To most it's a delightful nonsense rhyme set to music. But it had a quite serious purpose when it was written. It is a good deal more than just a repetitious melody with pretty phrases and a list of strange gifts. Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829, when Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England, were prohibited from ANY practice of their faith by law - private OR public. It was a crime to BE a Catholic."The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "Catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith - a memory aid, when to be caught with anything in *writing* indicating adherence to the Catholic faith could not only get you imprisoned, it could get you hanged.The songs gifts are hidden meanings to the teachings of the faith. The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person.
The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge which feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, much in memory of the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so..."
The other symbols mean the following:
1 Partridge in a Pear Tree = Jesus Christ, Son of God
2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

About the Author

Al Vargo

 website

I was a lukewarm Catholic for many years until my wife and I became parents, and that spark of Faith that was strong as a child was rekindled and burst forth anew. I became a commissioned extraordinary minister of Holy Communion for my local Parish (Our Lady of the Snows in Clarks Summit, PA), and take communion to the homebound of the community, and am on the parish's monthly Adoration team.
I began praying the rosary and was guided to use the internet to explore the Catholic Faith.
After listening to many great apologists like John Martinoni, Scott Hahn, Mike Cumbe, and countless others, I wanted to gather such resources together to help others on similar journeys. In December of 2010, I started the Facebook page/community Cathletics: Catholic Apologetics as a hub for these resources. The page come in 2nd in the About.com reader's choice award for best Catholic Facebook page. Cathletics also provides “Praystation Rosaries” (rosaries with prayer booklets) to the children of the parish and print weekly coloring pages based on each Sunday's Gospel. 
I am now also the parish manager for our Lighthouse Catholic Media CD/Book Kiosks, and run an evangelization booth featuring the Lighthouse kiosks at our annual summer bazaar.

http://www.catholic365.com/article/499/some-catholic-christmas-fun-facts.html#

Should the Parish and Laity Cooperate with Approved Lay Movements?

by Father John McCloskey

Some years ago I preached a retreat to a group of parish priests and suggested to them that they might consider, if they became pastors (as was likely at some point), an opening homily on what a parish is about. It is not about the school or the CYO or paper drives, and the priests could even assert that there is no need to become "involved" in the parish! You can imagine the confusion...

But it is an act of truthfulness on the priest's part to insist that the purpose of the parish is for the parishioners to receive the sacraments of the Church and to hear the word of God so that they, like the first Christians, can then go out to set the surrounding pagan world on fire with the love of Jesus Christ and his Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in paragraph 2179 that:

"A parish is a definite community of Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop."

It is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration, it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love.

That constitutes the Catechism's description of the parish's role in the Church. Without doubt, parishes perform a necessary function for the faithful, being a conduit of sacramental graces and sound teaching. In addition, the parish is the primary way of sharing our faith with fellow believers and supporting our neighboring faithful. However, we all should also be sharing our Catholic faith with daring among everyone we come in contact with, as Pope Francis constantly reminds us.

In support of personal conversion and spiritual development and in pursuit of this evangelical mission, many of today's faithful choose to join one of the array of Catholic movements. Strangely enough, there is nothing I could find on the Catholic movements in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, although with time I imagine that will be rectified. However I did find this on Wikipedia:

Movements in the Catholic Church are groups of church members following a specific spirituality given to them by the founder of their movement. In the case of officially recognized movements, this specificity never finds expression in rejection or overemphasis of certain teachings of the Magisterium but constitute a specific way of Christian life.

Church Movements include:

• Charismatic Renewal
• Communion and Liberation
• Regnum Christi
• The Schönstatt Movement
• Focolare
• Couples for Christ
• Jesus Youth

From other sources I have found dozens more movements where the laity may find a spiritual home inside the Church that helps them grow in holiness under an approved spirituality and at the same time remain a part of a parish—though not necessarily "involved" more deeply than by helping sustain the parish financially.

In short, as Pope Francis and his immediate predecessors have taught, all Catholics are called to spread the faith through prayer, holiness of life, words, and action. All, without exception—and that means YOU!—in your parish, yes, but also (and much more importantly for the evangelization of the world) in your workplace, among family, and with friendships. Indeed, there are no boundaries. Souls are at stake. What a privilege to assist the Holy Spirit in the work of saving souls!

To examine in greater detail where viewers might find a spiritual home as a member of one of the movements, in 2010 I hosted a 13-episode EWTN series on them that you can download from the EWTN website for free as MP3s. (Or order the DVDs at EWTN: 1.800.854.6316)

Special guests on my series were Cardinal Stafford and Archbishop Charles Chaput—then archbishop of Denver, now archbishop of Philadelphia, where he will be hosting the papal visit of Pope Francis early in the coming year. I hope you will be there in Philadelphia with dozens of family and friends and, yes, fellow parishioners and/or members of your movement. There, after receiving a revelation of truth by the presence of the Vicar of Christ in our country, May you be further inspired to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

First appeared on Aleteia.org on December 8, 2014.