Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of family life.
27 December 2020
Angelo Stagnaro on the Blessing of Home Altars
"I was introduced to a magnificent custom when I was in Poland. The faithful there place an icon or crucifix in every room and they get their house blessed like clockwork.
"House
blessings accomplish several things: First, they help to protect your
home and family from evil influences. Second, they remind your family of
the importance of God in their daily lives. And third, your parish
priest can at least be assured of a good meal. (After all, you can't
expect the man to schlep all the way to your house without feeding him.)"
In a recent commentary, writer Angelo Stagnaro reflected on family altars as a reflection that of our lives revolving around God.
To access Mr. Stagnaro's complete post, please visit:
National
Catholic Register: Blogs: Angelo Stagnaro: Home Altars Put God in His Place (of Honor) (23 DEC 20)
Reflection Starter from Pope Francis
"The birth of Jesus is the 'newness' that enables us to be reborn each year and to find, in him, the strength needed to face every trial." - Pope Francis
26 December 2020
"A Winter's Tale" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
As this blessed week draws to a close, I offer this version of musicians from four British Army units offering a Christmas surprise to Christmas shoppers at the MetroCentre in Gateshead, England:
Christmas Message from Pope Francis
"Pope Francis gave his traditional Christmas message and Blessing Urbi et Orbi
(“To the City [of Rome] and the World”), offering words of hope and
consolation, saying a birth is always a source of hope, and 'this Child,
Jesus, was born "to us" . . . without any borders, privileges or
exclusions.' . . .
"The Pope underscored that thanks to the Christ Child 'we can all call one another brothers and sisters' even as we hail from every continent, every language and culture, with our own identities and differences. He said this fundamental reality is something we can all build on to address the monumental challenges we are facing at this moment in history, such as the ecological crisis and serious economic and social imbalances worsened by the coronavirus pandemic."
To access a Vatican News Service report on the Pope's Christmas Message, please visit:
To access Pope Francis' complete Christmas message, please visit:
On a Christmas Decoration Ministry in Holliston, MA
"Richard Ball still remembers as a boy walking past glowing storefront windows along Fifth Avenue in New York City, watching Christmas-themed figurines dance from behind the glass.
"He thought about how much he wanted moving figurines like those swaying on his front yard.
"Like most families in the 1950s, his parents, both factory workers, hung a wreath outside the door, he said. His parents decorated a bit inside, but didn't have much free cash to spend on decorating the outside, and didn't have power outlets outdoors.
"In 1971, he put his first Christmas decoration - a handmade manger - outside on his front lawn to accompany his plastic Holy Family figurines. Now in 2020, he's hand-made more than 140 moving figurines and around 30 plywood cut-out decorations - and they've traveled beyond just his front lawn in Holliston."
A recent MetroWest Daily News article reported on this Christmas decoration ministry of retired Natick, MA, firefighter Richard Ball.
To access the complete report, please visit:
On a Miami Officer Becoming a Mentor to Teen Who Assaulted Him During Protest, Success Lessons from Rudolph, and Other Topics
A number of articles/posts have recently been published on a variety of subjects worth considering.
To access some of these, please visit:
The Bulletin (Norwich, CT): Cal Lord: Celebrating the gift of 'God with us' (24 DEC 20)
Police Magazine: Miami Officer Becomes Mentor to Teen Who Assaulted Him During Protest (15 NOV 20)
SkipPrtichard: 5 Success Lessons from Rudolph (23 DEC 20)
CBS Sunday Morning: Promoting the power of kindness (20 DEC 20)
The Old Farmer's Almanac: Christmas Facts and Trivia
The History Channel: What Was Christmas Like in the 13 Colonies?
WWLP-TV: Couple uses Rubik's Cubes to make artwork of famous faces (21 NOV 20)
Celtic Woman: "Away in a Manger"
As we continue our Christmas celebration, I offer this version of Celtic Woman presenting "Away in a Manger":
Pope Francis Proclaims "Year of Saint Joseph", Part 6
A recent post offered the beginning of Pope Francis' proclamation of the "Year of Saint Joseph." This Apostolic Letter continues as follows:
"4. An accepting father
Joseph accepted Mary unconditionally. He trusted in the angel's words. 'The nobility of Joseph's heart is such that what he learned from the law he made dependent on charity. Today, in our world where psychological, verbal and physical violence towards women is so evident, Joseph appears as the figure of a respectful and sensitive man. Even though he does not understand the bigger picture, he makes a decision to protect Mary's good name, her dignity and her life. In his hesitation about how best to act, God helped him by enlightening his judgment'.[18]
"Often in life, things happen whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is frequently one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph set aside his own ideas in order to accept the course of events and, mysterious as they seemed, to embrace them, take responsibility for them and make them part of his own history. Unless we are reconciled with our own history, we will be unable to take a single step forward, for we will always remain hostage to our expectations and the disappointments that follow.
"The spiritual path that Joseph traces for us is not one that explains, but accepts. Only as a result of this acceptance, this reconciliation, can we begin to glimpse a broader history, a deeper meaning. We can almost hear an echo of the impassioned reply of Job to his wife, who had urged him to rebel against the evil he endured: 'Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?' (Job 2:10).
"Joseph is certainly not passively resigned, but courageously and firmly proactive. In our own lives, acceptance and welcome can be an expression of the Holy Spirit's gift of fortitude. Only the Lord can give us the strength needed to accept life as it is, with all its contradictions, frustrations and disappointments.
"Jesus' appearance in our midst is a gift from the Father, which makes it possible for each of us to be reconciled to the flesh of our own history, even when we fail to understand it completely.
"Just as God told Joseph: 'Son of David, do not be afraid!' (Mt 1:20), so he seems to tell us: 'Do not be afraid!' We need to set aside all anger and disappointment, and to embrace the way things are, even when they do not turn out as we wish. Not with mere resignation but with hope and courage. In this way, we become open to a deeper meaning. Our lives can be miraculously reborn if we find the courage to live them in accordance with the Gospel. It does not matter if everything seems to have gone wrong or some things can no longer be fixed. God can make flowers spring up from stony ground. Even if our heart condemns us, 'God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything' (1 Jn 3:20).
Here, once again, we encounter that Christian realism which rejects nothing that exists. Reality, in its mysterious and irreducible complexity, is the bearer of existential meaning, with all its lights and shadows. Thus, the Apostle Paul can say: 'We know that all things work together for good, for those who love God' (Rom 8:28). To which Saint Augustine adds, 'even that which is called evil (etiam illud quod malum dicitur)'.[19] In this greater perspective, faith gives meaning to every event, however happy or sad.
"Nor should we ever think that believing means finding facile and comforting solutions. The faith Christ taught us is what we see in Saint Joseph. He did not look for shortcuts, but confronted reality with open eyes and accepted personal responsibility for it.
"Joseph's attitude encourages us to accept and welcome others as they are, without exception, and to show special concern for the weak, for God chooses what is weak (cf. 1 Cor 1:27). He is the 'Father of orphans and protector of widows' (Ps 68:6), who commands us to love the stranger in our midst.[20] I like to think that it was from Saint Joseph that Jesus drew inspiration for the parable of the prodigal son and the merciful father (cf. Lk 15:11-32)."
Notes
[18] Homily at Mass and Beatifications, Villavicencio, Colombia (8 September 2017): AAS 109 (2017), 1061.
[19] Enchiridion de fide, spe et caritate, 3.11: PL 40, 236.
[20] Cf. Deut 10:19; Ex 22:20-22; Lk 10:29-37.
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of family connections, done remotely, during this Christmas season.
Joseph Pronechen on the Miraculous Christmas Flowers of St. Patrick
"St. Patrick was traveling from Ireland to France to see and meet with St. Martin, the Bishop of Tours. It was during Christmas time, recounts a centuries-old tradition in an area along the Loire river. After leaving Bordeaux, Patrick stopped by the banks of the Loire before continuing the journey to lay down to refresh under the branches of a blackthorn bush, a large shrub that can grow up to 12 feet in high.
"Despite the intense wintry cold, the blackthorn honored the saintly traveler by shaking the snow off its branches, then immediately bloomed in a profusion of snow-white flowers that don't normally appear until the spring, to shelter the saintly wayfarer.
"Then after crossing the Loire, on the other side of the river when Patrick stopped to rest again, another blackthorn repeated the favor for its honored guest.
"Thereafter,
every Christmastime, those same two blackthorn bushes, also known as
sloes, continuously blossomed every year at to recall the visit of the
great saint. Les Fleurs de St-Patrice - the Flowers of St.
Patrick - repeated for centuries and became a local legend not only in
the village of St. Patrice near where the miraculous blooming happened,
but spread throughout the surrounding countryside."
In a recent commentary, National Catholic Register staff writer Joseph Pronechen reflected on these flowers and their annual appearance until World War I erupted and "people forgot the miracles of Christmas."
To access Mr. Pronechen's complete post, please visit:
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Joseph Pronechen: The Miraculous Christmas Flowers of St. Patrick (25 DEC 20)
Reflection Starter from William Shakespeare
"'Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after." -William Shakespeare
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