Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’
A Child is Born
The message of Christmas is the greatest story ever told: “a Child is born to us, and a son is given to us” (Isaiah 9:6). And that Child is God, born of Mary ever-virgin, a maiden espoused to a man named Joseph, the humble carpenter of Nazareth. The glory of the universe has come unto…
Read MoreA Christmas Sermon: Part II
I am going to say something that will please you, my very dear brethren. There are three states of life pursued by the members of the Church of Christ: marriage, widowhood, and virginity. Because those states, those different manifestations of purity, were destined to be found in the holy members of Christ, all three states…
Read MoreA Christmas Sermon: Part I
Today, the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ has dawned in festive splendor for us. It is His birthday, the day on which the Eternal Day was born. And hence it is this day because from this day forward the length of the day increases. Our Lord had two nativities: one divine, the other, human;…
Read MoreThe Nativity through the Eyes of St. Joseph and Our Lady
The following excerpt came from various approved mystics as compiled by Dr. Paul Thigpen. When Mary told Joseph that her time was drawing near and that he should now withdraw to pray, he left her and turned toward his sleeping place to do as she asked. Before entering his little recess, he looked back once…
Read MoreThe Joyous Feast of St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas, the patron Saint of Russia, was born toward the end of the third century. His uncle, the Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, ordained him priest, and appointed him abbot of a monastery; and on the death of the archbishop he was elected to the vacant see. Throughout his life he retained the bright…
Read MoreThe Epiphany Cake on the Twelfth Day of Christmas
“The kings of Tharsis and of the islands shall offer presents, alleluia. The kings of Arabia and of Saba shall bring gifts, alleluia.” —Roman Ritual, Blessings at Meals on Epiphany and Octave (cf. Psalm 71 (72): 10). On January 6, the annual feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord is celebrated as an extension of…
Read MoreGo, and Search Diligently for the Child
Herod the Great, the King of the Jews – was neither a king nor a Jew. His mother was an Arab, the daughter of a sheik, and his father was an Idumean (Edomite) from south of Israel. The name “Herod” isn’t even Jewish, it’s Greek. It’s a name from Greek mythology. How did Herod, who…
Read MorePassing on the Tradition of the Christmas Proclamation
Christmas has always been celebrated with extraordinary solemnity, brining to mind the hour when the Holy Mother gave birth to Christ, an event that has been recalled through the centuries with the most fervent prayers and vigil watchings. Over the centuries the story of Christmas has been recorded in certain select extra-biblical works that are…
Read MoreThe Special Privilege of Three Masses on Christmas
“The custom of saying three Masses on this day is also very ancient, and recalls to our minds the threefold birth of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity – His eternal birth from the Father before all ages, His temporal birth in Bethlehem, and His spiritual birth in the souls of men.” –The Catholic…
Read MoreA Famous Christmas Carol Written by St. Alphonsus Liguori
All Catholics should know of St. Alphonsus Liguori’s (1696-1787) famous Christmas hymn he penned as a young priest entitled, Tu Scendi dale Stelle. The song can be heard here, performed by Luciano Pavarotti in Vienna, Austria. St. Alphonsus was an Italian bishop from the Kingdom of Naples who was a prolific writer and thinker with…
Read MoreLet Us Go to the Grotto of Bethlehem
“For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of…
Read MoreThe Glow from the Midnight Cave: Memento Bethlehem
“And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata [fruitful, honored], art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the rule in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.” -Mich. 5:2 Each year the Christmas story brings to the…
Read MoreChristmas Midnight Mass Sermon by St. Francis de Sales
Below is an inspiring sermon delivered by Saint Francis de Sales for Midnight Mass, December 25, 1622. Highlights include: The great Christian feasts in the early Church and their observances The Incarnation as God’s end in creating the world The two births of the Word, eternal and temporal The two natures of the Word made…
Read MoreCatholic Elements of Home Alone
Released in November 1990, in time for the Thanksgiving and holiday theater-rush, the film Home Alone became an instant Christmas classic. It was a box-office smash, grossing nearly a half-billion dollars in receipts worldwide. It received numerous accolades, with Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. Its main star, Macaulay Culkin, became a household name. The…
Read MoreChristmas Meditation on the Sacred Infancy of Jesus
” Yet neither Nazareth nor Bethlehem were his beginnings. He was eternal years old the moment he was born. “ -Fr. Frederick Faber Below is a unique Christmas meditation from the famous English convert to the Catholic Faith, Fr. Frederick Faber of London, England. Fr. Faber has long been revered for his thoroughly enjoyable and erudite…
Read MoreMystical Aspects of the Mystery of Christmas
Below is an excerpt from a brief, but interesting sermon that was delivered by Saint Francis de Sales to a convent of nuns on Christmas Eve in the year 1614. These nuns were members of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Visitation; an order founded by him. The sermon addresses Christ the Savior as…
Read MoreWelcoming Advent in the Home as a Pre-Christmas
Advent is here and soon enough Christmas will be upon us! It has always been the aim of the Church to cause her children to reflect and prepare in a special way during this holy season. Mothers can sympathize with the secular mythology surrounding Ol’ Saint Nick–that of a fairyland workshop bursting with harried elves…
Read MoreFostering Catholic Culture: Celebrating the Feast of Saint Nicholas
“O God, Who didst adorn blessed Nicholas, Thy bishop, with miracles unnumbered, grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and prayers we may be delivered from the fires of hell.” –Roman Missal, Collect for Feast of St. Nicholas One of the most beloved of saints is St. Nicholas of Myra, an early Christian bishop…
Read More