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: HAY Add fresh hay to the manger of your heart by never growing angry with those around you, no matter [...]
Hector Berlioz was a professed atheist, but could anything as tender and touching as "L’Enfance du Christ" have been written by a man who did not believe? And what of Berlioz’s closing line to the work: “Oh my soul, what remains for you to do but shatter your pride before so great a mystery?" The [...]
Tarzan might not be “real” in a historical sense, but he is an immortal character whose story makes the reader think, wonder, and take delight. That’s reason enough to celebrate his creator in his sesquicentennial year. 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great modern mythmaker Edgar Rice Burroughs—creator of Tarzan, Mars [...]
Today, I recognize every American celebrating December 8 as a Holy Day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics celebrate what they believe to be Mary’s freedom from original sin as the mother of [...]
If our ears are to be opened to the good news to come, we need to shed the lies with which we comfort ourselves and face our worse selves, only to bring them to the healing touch of Christ. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. He is the [...]
If Plato’s extended metaphor of the mind as depicted by the city is true, every human mind has the capacity to train its Guardians, curb the appetitive part of the soul, and live on the grassy plains in the sun above the cave. It’s a question of true learning. When Eva Brann describes a liberal [...]
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: MANGER Make one corner of your heart as manger of Jesus. To do this, go without something today that you [...]
Before dawn on a crisp November morning several years ago, I woke up, quickly got dressed, and headed outside. My Dad and I drove a short distance to a nearby field and got out of the car. He told me to walk slowly and quietly through the marsh until we arrived at our destination. We [...]
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: CREVICES You must block every crevice in the walls of the stable, so that the wind and cold don’t enter [...]
Eager for legitimacy and filled with the lessons of history, Napoleon Bonaparte knew that the title of Emperor that he had just assumed would not be irrevocable in the eyes of his subjects until he had become “the Lord’s Anointed,” like the kings of France. Events since the Concordat had unrolled an endless carpet of [...]
The Second Coming is of course closely connected to the doctrine of God’s kingdom. To believe in Jesus’ New Advent is to believe that he is the true king, that he will return to take his rightful place as ruler of the world, setting everything right again and governing a heavenized earth in justice and [...]
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 ROOF The roof of the stable needs to be in good condition, so that the Holy Family is protected [...]
Considering Chesterton’s childlike relationship with children, it seems somehow apt that a new biography of him has been written for children. One of the great and almost secret regrets of G.K. Chesterton and his wife Frances was the sad fact that they were never able to have children. Frances had undergone an operation to help [...]
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 STABLE The stable is your heart. Ask Jesus to make His home in your heart as He will soon [...]