Bethlehem today is a bustling, modern city on the side of a hill, but at the time of Jesus’ birth it would have been a settlement of simple cave houses. In The Everlasting Man, G.K. Chesterton famously salvaged the caveman of popular imagination—suggesting that the neanderthal was a brilliant artist, not a brute. He then [...]
Solemnity of The Nativity of Our Lord Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Saviour has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia. Poem: Scott Cairns - "The Nativity" As you lean in, you’ll surely apprehend the tiny [...]
"Stalag 17," set in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II, is a genuine Christmas movie, albeit a complex one: at once a mystery, a comedy, a war story, and a morality play, all wrapped in barbed wire. Die Hard changed the definition of a “Christmas movie,” mostly providing dads an excuse [...]
Reflection: OUR BLESSED MOTHER Go to meet your Blessed Mother. Lead her to the manger you have prepared in your heart and invite her to lay the Infant Jesus there. Today, find some quiet time to be alone with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me always to love your Blessed Mother. Come, [...]
The genealogy of Jesus, so strange upon our ear, is no excursion into mere curiosity or arcane trivia. It is the unfolding and making known of the tale of God’s mercies down the centuries, told out in the lives of the many most of whose names are known to God alone and who lie in [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: ANGELS Invite the angels to adore God with you. Today, be aware of the Divine indwelling on your soul. Prayer: [...]
As an indomitable culture warrior and soldier of Christ, James Como died with his boots on, working in the Lewisian vineyard in which he had laboured for almost six decades. “Having labored in the Lewisian vineyard for nearly six decades I rejoice in the vitality of the laborers now reaping the grapes of joy.” These [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: ST. JOSEPH Accompany Joseph from door to door. Learn from his example how to bear refusals and disappointments silently and [...]
Paradoxical as it may seem, it remains true that man is perfect in exact proportion to the subjection he gives his superiors, to that subjection given the Supreme Being who is the First Cause and Last End of every creature. As a matter of fact, there cannot be atheism. Man may vociferously deny that he [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: THE KEY Provide the stable with a key to keep out thieves. Today, try to keep from your heart any [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: SHEPHERDS Invite shepherds to pay homage to our newborn King, imitating their patient waiting and watchfulness. Remember Jesus will be [...]
How can we rebuild culture and community in a world where we seem to be glued together in pragmatic tribes, looking across the divide at deadly enemies? One answer is to rediscover the parts of life that make up the whole of a healthy community, and what better way to embark on our study of [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: THE OX Lead the strong ox to the crib. Today, use your strength and your talents to help someone else. [...]
"A Christmas Carol" is, as might be expected of a meditation on the spirit of Christmas, a literary work that operates most profoundly on the level of theology. It could be argued and has been argued that, after Shakespeare, Charles Dickens is the finest writer in the English language. His works have forged their way [...]