December is the month dedicated to the Immaculate Conception
January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus
Reading from the Rule of Saint Benedict for December 24 and 25: Chapter 66 The Porter of the Monastery and Chapter 67 Brothers Sent on a Journey
Light dawns for the just.
IMMACULATE MARY,
SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,
PRAY FOR US.
JESUS, BRIGHTNESS OF ETERNAL LIGHT,
HAVE MERCY ON US.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through Him,
and without Him nothing came to be.
What came to be through Him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
(John 1:1-5)
Merry Christmas! Buon natale! Frohe Weihnachten! Joyeux Noel!
Always be a porter (See RB 66) at your door to let in the true light, which enlightens everyone, and let it shine throughout the world. So be ready, as Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) tells us: "When the human spirit is ready, God enters without hesitation or waiting. You need not look either here or there. God is no farther away than the door of heart." Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favors rests.
Encouraged by a faithful reader (thank you, padre ☺), I am back. Rather, we are back. And thank you, faithful readers. We are about something new. Or at least you may notice a few new things. At the same time, other things will remain the same. We shall see. Let us call these offerings "occasional." You will see them on occasion then, with occasions to be determined.
There is so much to ponder at this time where is one to begin ... There is the Vigil Mass where we began: Today you will know that the Lord will come, and He will save us, and in the morning you will see His glory (Entrance Antiphon). Joseph named Him Jesus (see Mt 1:25). Then the Mass during the night where we began: Let us all rejoice in the Lord, for our Savior has been born in the world. Today true peace has come down to us from heaven (Entrance Antiphon). Mass at Dawn takes off with: Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us; and He will be called Wondrous God, Prince of Peace, Father of future ages: and His reign will be without end (Entrance Antiphon). And at Mass During the Day, we proclaim: A child is born for us, and a son is given to us, His scepter of power rests upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Messenger of great counsel (Entrance Antiphon). It is overwhelming; what a gift and privilege to accept Him; He who gave us power to become children of God. So, we believe in His name, for from His fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace (see (John 1:1-18). And in just what specific way will you behold the salvation of our God (see Isaiah 52:10), this day and throughout this holy Christmas season?
We go forth, then, with Mary, to keep all these things, and reflect on them in our hearts (See Luke 2:19).
We are encouraged by more than a few voices.
She who conceived God by faith promises you the same if you have faith; if you will faithfully receive the Word from the mouth of the heavenly messenger, you too may conceive the God whom the whole world cannot contain.
(Guerric of Igny, 1070-1157)
With complete devotion
then let us think of Christ
in the swaddling clothes
with which His mother
wrapped Him, so that
with eternal happiness
we may see the glory and
beauty with which His
Father clothed Him.
(Guerric of Igny, 1070-1157)
Let your goodness, Lord, appear to us, that we, made in Your image, may conform ourselves to it. In our own strength we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder nor is it fitting for us to try. But Your mercy reaches from the heavens through the clouds to the earth below ...
You have come to us as a small child, but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts, the gift of eternal love. Caress us with Your tiny hands, embrace us with Your tiny arms, and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.
(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux "Troubador of Mary," 1090-1153)
Here is the holy crib of our dear Jesus; I will place everything in it, everything, everything. I believe that before long we shall see things we should never have dreamed of.
(Saint Julia Billiart, 1751-1816, during her final illness)
If the Redeemer had come to be feared and respected among men, He would have come as a full-grown man and with royal dignity: but because He came to gain our love, He chose to come to show Himself as an infant and the poorest of infants.
(Saint Faustina Kowalska, 1905-1938)
It requires faith to believe that Christ will be born in man this Christmas, but much more faith to believe that He will be born in our own heart, that He could fulfill His will of love in our own life, our life with so little radius for His light, so little journeying for His feet, so small a distance for both hands to reach.
(Caryll Houselander, 1901-1954)
By virtue of the creation, and still more, of the Incarnation, nothing here below is profane, for those who know how to see.
(Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 1881-1955)
The Incarnation is the most stupendous event which can ever take place on earth; and after it, and henceforth, I do not see how we can scruple any miracle on the mere ground of its being unlikely to happen.
(Saint John Henry Newman, 1801-1890)
In putting his signature, in faith, to the mysterium of the Incarnate Son of God, a person is enabled to be a helper to his fellow men, to bring happiness to children, families, and the oppressed. Faith in the Incarnation promotes the salvation of mankind the implementation of human rights.
(Theodor Schnitzler, 1910-1982)
Charity is friendship with God.
(Saint Thomas Aquinas "Angelic Doctor," 1225-1274)
When one is filled with Jesus Christ, one is at the same time filled with charity, with a holy vivacity, and with lofty ideals, whose execution leaves no time for languishing ...
In all the visits we make, let us imitate Mary. Let us visit one another in charity, for under even a simple civility great mysteries may be hidden. Grace will grow where it is made known by humility and by the exercise of holy friendship.
(Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, 1627-1704)
Quiet is born, not so much around us as within ourselves. To be quiet and concentrated does not mean that one has to be in a peaceful, cloister-like, deserted place, far from tumult. To say this would be an oversimplification ... To be quiet means to have quiet in one's soul.
(Blessed Stefan Wyszynski, 1901-1981)
Great is the amazement of this earth of ours that the Lord of all has come down to it: God has become man, the Ancient has become a child, the Master has become like His servants ...
Who is it who will not listen to this wonder, that God has come to be born? Who will not be amazed when he sees that the Lord of the angels has been born?
(Saint Ephrem the Syrian, 306-373)
SAINT JOHN OF KANTY,
SAINT STEPHEN, FIRST MARTYR,
SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST,
THE HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS,
SAINT THOMAS BECKET,
ELIJAH AND ELISHA, PROPHETS,
POPE SAINT SYLVESTER I,
THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH,
PRAY FOR US.
Today's photo: From the Jensen Botanical Garden, Carmichael, CA Break into song; sing praise.
© Gertrude Feick, 2024/2025
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