THE shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?
My God, no hymn for thee?
My soul ’s a shepherd too; a flock it feeds
Of thoughts, and words, and deeds.
The pasture is thy word: the streams, thy grace
Enriching all the place.
Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers
Out-sing the day-light houres.
Then we will chide the sunne for letting night
Take up his place and right:
We sing one common Lord; wherefore he should
Himself the candle hold.
I will go searching, till I finde a sunne
Shall stay, till we have done;
A willing shiner, that shall shine as gladly,
As frost-nipt sunnes look sadly.
Then we will sing, shine all our own day,
And one another pay:
His beams shall cheer my breast, and both so twine,
Till ev’n his beams sing, and my musick shine.

— from “Christmas,” The Temple (1633), by George Herbert

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[Reposted]

ALAN writes:

A series of memories dating back many decades of Christmastime in St. Louis include:

The cold, pervasive, mysterious darkness that lay just beyond our living room windows on Christmas Eve nights in the 1950s and that stood in such contrast to the light, the warmth, the laughter, the conversation and the Christmas cheer that filled that room, and to the soothing voices of Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and Gene Autry on the 78-rpm Christmas records I played at age five while seated on the floor;

My grandfather reacting gratefully and gracefully when he received a modest gift from one of his children; having never expected much from life and being content with the basic necessities, he appreciated even a few simple, utilitarian gifts;

The two, tall, glass-enclosed candles that stood alit on our mantel every Christmas Eve;

The big evergreen Christmas tree in Aunt Lydia’s apartment in 1955 that stood as high as the ceiling;

Christmas visits at the home of cousin Carmella and her family of six children, evenings ending invariably with Christmas cookies and milk and coffee at their kitchen table;

Being taken by my father to see the huge Christmas trees in the lobby of the Missouri Athletic Club and the German House in St. Louis in the 1950s; Read More »

EV’RY star in heaven is singing, All through the night,
Hear the glorious music ringing, All through the night.
Songs of sweet ethereal lightness, Wrought in realms of peace and whiteness;
See, the dark gives way to brightness, All through the night.
Look, my love, the stars are smiling, All through the night.
Lighting, soothing and beguiling, Earth’s sombre plight:
So, when age brings grief and sorrow, From each other we can borrow
Faith in our sublime tomorrow, All through the night

(A. G. Prys-Jones, Ar hyd y nos)

 Link

OBSERVE the contempt that greets black commentator Jesse Lee Peterson on the Dr. Phil Show as Peterson argues that the government is destroying fertility, especially that of whites. The decline in the white birth rate is a disaster and will not benefit other races, he claims.

The white women in the audience are unperturbed by comments by the eugenicist Les Knight, who says the government should subsidize sterilization services for people in their early 2os. They glare with hatred when Peterson defends procreation.
 

“WE might note here that Pius IX, who defined Mary’s Immaculate Conception, had been an epileptic. Even though he had severe seizures he was allowed to remain on at the Seminary, but was told he could never be ordained. He prayed and begged our Lady to cure him of epilepsy. For some time before the perspective ordination he had no seizures. The then Pope intervened and reluctantly allowed him to be ordained, under one condition: that he would never offer Mass alone, but would always for the rest of his life have a Priest next to him in case during Mass he would have another seizure. Now as a Priest he prayed: “Mary, no more seizures, please. Also, would you please spare me the embarrassment and inconvenience of never being allowed to offer Mass without another Priest at my side.” Read More »

“[T]HE close ties which were to unite the Son of God with Mary, and which would elicit from Him the tenderest love and the most filial reverence for her, had been present to the divine thought from all eternity: and the conclusion forces itself upon us that therefore the divine Word had for this His future Mother a love infinitely greater than that which He bore to all His other creatures.”

— Dom Prosper Guéranger, “The Immaculate Conception,” The Liturgical Year

TODAY IS THE FEAST OF the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a wonderful and solemn occasion in this sacred season of Advent that celebrates the conception of Mary, not the conception of Jesus Christ, as many erroneously believe.

Here is an excellent comment by a reader from a 2015 post that might help clear up some of the other misconceptions about this day and the veneration of Mary:

I am married to a Protestant convert who struggles with the idea of venerating Mary, wondering why it is necessary, as he feels his faith is strong enough without her help. Here are some things I’ve tried to explain in our discussions (but like any very deep idea it is not easy!).

1) Mary wasn’t chosen to be the Mother of God sort of randomly out of all other women because of her holiness, but created by God Himself – Immaculately Conceived – to be the Mother of God, and was holy because of that. The woman to carry the Son of God in her womb must be perfect; since Christ is perfect nothing else would befit Him. Therefore God in His wisdom created such a woman.

2) Her blood runs through His veins, an unspeakable honor. God did not merely select a woman out of those who already existed, no matter how holy, to receive that honor. No natural woman would be worthy, she must be from the realm of the supernatural.

3) God in His wisdom did not leave us to be spiritually “motherless” children here on earth. He gave us a Father – Himself – but also a Mother, who is our example of perfect, selfless motherhood (needed now more than ever). In His infinite wisdom he gave all mothers here on earth, charged with the salvation of their children, a woman from the supernatural realm to intercede for us (and indeed for all mankind).

4) She is God’s answer to Eve, the New Eve (as Christ is the New Adam). Mary “untied the knot” of Eve’s disobedience: A virgin disobeyed, a virgin obeyed; Eve listened to a serpent, Mary an angel, etc, etc. This has been believed since the first centuries of Christianity. Adam and Eve and the tree caused the Fall; the New Adam and the New Eve and a tree (the cross) will redeem us. This is a very profound and I am not doing it justice but there are many beautiful writings available that do do it justice.

There is, of course, so much more as the Church is inexhaustible in its depth. I think, as with many things, faith included, that a desire to understand Catholic beliefs about Mary greatly aids in opening our minds to acceptance. As I believe I’ve said before here on TTH, I think much of the confusion, the “block” if you will, comes from a Protestant sense of disloyalty in praying to Mary since they rightly reserve all worship – which for them lives in fervent prayer – for Jesus Christ. Catholicism is sacramental. Our highest form of worship is the Holy Sacrament of the Mass of which prayer is but a part. We can pray to Mary and the saints in veneration without fear of disloyalty to Our Lord.

More on devotion to Mary can be found here.

Below is the sweet and moving medieval carol to the Virgin Mary, Angelus ad Virginem, performed by The Sixteen. Though it celebrates the Angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary, it also indirectly proclaims this supernatural event — the conception of a woman without sin. May this mystery fill you with happiness, confidence and peace today.

“Our own evil inclinations are far more dangerous than any external enemies.”
— St. Ambrose

CHRISTIANS FOR TRUTH reports that Amazon will not be censoring the allegedly anti-semitic documentary Hebrews to Negroes:

Jews know that the cat is out of the proverbial bag — and that everyone — from Van Morrison to mothers at PTA meetings — knows they control the media and Hollywood — and every time they try to deny it, they merely put their collective foot in their mouths and prove that they do.

Perhaps if there were as smart as they think they are, they’d stop having a meltdown every time someone says something remotely unflattering about Jews, and just ignore it or laugh it off — the way Larry David did when everyone noticed that Jews were at the center of the sexual harassment scandal in Hollywood [skip ahead to 3:45 into his monologue].

Because the more they deny the obvious, the more hostility and distrust they create for themselves — as the Jewish CEO of Amazon has clearly figured out.

By trying to destroy Kanye West — costing him billions in lost product endorsements — merely proves that Jews — uniquely — have the collective power to do so.

The grandfather of Zionism — Theodore Herzl — laid out the cold, hard facts about the Jews and their financial power: Read More »

SEE Part II here.

St. Nicholas

IT happens again and again: An uppity brat coached in supposed realism by his parents or an older sibling comes into his kindergarten class a few weeks before Christmas. He tells his classmates the brutal truth: Santa Claus does not exist.

Tears, panic and existential shock ensue.

Children return home to interrogate their parents. The parents are put in a difficult spot. They themselves believe Santa isn’t real. So they are forced to lie or to puncture the most beautiful of fairy tales.

It happens over and over again. Sensitive children feel betrayed. Brats rejoice in their power over the mystery and enchantment of Christmas.

A solution to this reoccurring scenario is all too obvious. We must tell children the truth. The truth is, Santa Claus does exist. Here is his story:

His name is St. Nicholas. On earth, he lived in the fourth century in a town near the Aegean Sea, in what is today Turkey. He became an orphan when very young. From an early age, he loved the Christ Child deeply. So great was his love, he wanted to help the poor and suffering always. His parents had been well off and he distributed the money he inherited to people in want. He wanted to give gifts more than anything else. He liked to give gifts at night when no one could see him because he was humble and did not want to receive any credit or fame for what he did.

Once he was on a ship in a storm and his prayers, it is believed, kept the ship from sinking. To this day, he is honored by sailors. He was so holy and good. He became a priest and then a bishop. The people rejoiced in his care for them.

He was thrown in prison under the Roman Emperor Diocletian because he loved God (and little children) so much. He was later released. After he died, many miracles occurred near his tomb.

St. Nicholas is alive in heaven today. He is Santa Claus and he will never cease to exist.

He is surrounded by beautiful angels who sing and praise God without pause. His birthday is celebrated every December 6th. At Christmastime, without fail, he makes sure abundant gifts appear under the Christmas tree. Even the poorest children receive something special. Santa Claus has miraculous powers and his desire to give and delight never ends.

Santa is a golden-hearted father who cherishes children everywhere. You don’t have to be perfect to deserve his love.

Please see The Christmas Book, by Francis X. Weiser for a longer version of this account for children. People who believe Santa is fake are not to be taken seriously. Let them say what they will. We know the truth.

P.S. Mrs. Santa Claus is a myth. She is not real and never existed.