Christmas Eve and Christmas Morn

Technorati Tags: Christmas

It was a Merry Christmas at our place!

     

Merry Christmas!

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!!

God's sign is the baby in need of help and in poverty. Exactly the same sign has been given to us...God's sign is simplicity...God's sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendor. He comes as a baby--defenseless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing other from us than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts, and his will--we learn to live with him and to practice with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. God made himself small so that we could understand him, welcome him, and love him...Christmas has become the Feast of gifts in imitation of God who has given himself to us. Let us allow our heart, our soul, and our mind to be touched by this fact!
~ Pope Benedict XVI

The Castle in the Basement (by WWD)

Castles: From Portcullises to Dungeons

Lately we have been studying all about castles. It is so much fun. Let me tell you what we have learned. Gatehouses (the most vulnerable part of the castle) didn't have just one portcullis. They had a portcullis, a thick door, and a heavy wooden drawbar, another portcullis, and so on. Arrow loops allowed an archer to shoot an arrow in many different directions without exposing himself.
To help us really understand castles as best we could, Mom got us a paper castle that we could cut and glue together. It was really fun.

Quote of the Day

One of my favorites...

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Ho Ho Ho

We went to see Santa today. It was the best ever!
As you can see though, MPD was not too sure about the whole thing.

Gingerbread Houses

This morning was Gingerbread House day at JPD's preschool. The gingerbread houses were pre-constructed with graham crackers and hot glue gun; we did the decorating.
JPD had LOTS of help and advice with his creation as you can see!

Christmas Party with the Bishop

Last Thursday, WWD's Conquest club got to have a Mass and dinner with our Bishop. It was lovely; we are so blessed to have a really awesome Bishop!
Here JPD is helping the Bishop hand out holy medals. JPD did such a good and careful job walking around with the tray of medals, and he was so proud of himself! He can't wait to be a big kid and join Conquest too. :)
By the way, the Bishop's homily was about how much greater are the gifts that Jesus brings than the gifts that Santa Claus brings. But my favorite part was during the party, when he said that all the theology about Jesus' coming is well summarized in the lyrics to Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Guess we'll be learning all about those this week!

Happy 9 Month Birthday, MPD!

Guess who crawled across the room for the first time today??!!

Sibling Bickering

This morning I had this idea--divinely inspired, no doubt:

As a parent, the thing that drives me MOST insane is sibling bickering, or even fighting. I'm sure that those of you who are parents agree, as did my own parents, for sure! It just makes me nuts that these precious souls, whom I love with all my heart and soul, so often seem to not feel the same love for each other, and don't always bear with each other's weaknesses, and sometimes even go so far as to tease one another! (Surely this nonsense never happens at your house, only ours, right?) Even as I write this, one darling child is punching another. Sigh.

Well, of course, that's what God thinks about us too. "Why can't they just be nice to each other," He probably thinks. I find it incredibly humbling to remember that God loves all those other people just as overwhelmingly much as He loves me. And when I think about how much I resolve to really and truly love my neighbor as myself, even when I really try, and still how hard it is to properly love others with the love of Christ, it (quite rightly) makes me so aware of how vast is the gap between my own pathetic self and God, who IS Love.

Just a little Advent reflection for a Monday morning! :)
(Now a couple of them are actually crying in the next room; I better go now...)

Book Report

So I'm reading Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice.  I must admit that in my former life of lots of time on airplanes, I really enjoyed her Vampire books--especially the characters' existential or spiritual musings.  Of course it's such a metaphor for the author's own faith journey that she's now back to the rich Catholicism of her roots.  I had to read her Christ the Lord books to see what they were all about.  It's fun to imagine Jesus' boyhood and early adulthood along with her, and to get some detailed insight into Jewish culture and daily life at the turn of the age.  Also, I don't think I've ever read anything, except the Gospels of course, written with the first-person voice of Jesus.  (I certainly don't think I'd want to try writing that, myself!)

But I'm just now up to the part where the Lord is baptized in the river Jordan by, of course, His cousin John the Baptist.  (Now, the theology surrounding John is another fascinating and mysterious topic, but that's for another post.)  Jesus then goes into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights (maybe only a solitude-craving Mom would think this, but wouldn't it be interesting to actually try that?), where he is, of course, tempted by the Evil One.  I just love her dialogue between Satan and the Son of God.  I suppose after thinking it through so carefully in order to write so many books about the perspective of the dark side, Anne has this Satan thing completely figured out.

Check out her take on the Lord's response to Satan's claim that the world is his, and his offer to "let" Jesus rule over it all, as they stand looking over the world:

"Those aren't your nations," I said.  "The kingdoms of this world aren't yours.  They never were...

"The Lord on High is the One whom I worship, and no one else.  You know this, you know it with every lie you speak.  And you, you rule nothing and you never have."  I pointed. "Look down, yourself, on this perspective that is so dear to you.  Think of the thousands upon thousands who rise each day and go to sleep without ever thinking evil or doing evil, whose hearts are set upon their wives, their husbands, their fathers and mothers, their children, upon the harvest and the spring rain and the new wine and the new moon.  Think of them in every land and every language, think of them as they hunger for the Word of God even where there is no one to give it to them, how they reach out for it, and how they turn from pain and misery and injustice, no matter what you would have them do! ...

"Look at them, use your powerful eyes to see them everywhere around you," I said.  "Use your powerful ears to hear their cheerful laughter, their natural songs.  Look far and wide to find them coming together to celebrate the simple feasts of life from the deepest jungle to the great snowbound heights.  What makes you think you rule these people!  What, that one may falter, and another stumble, and someone in confusion fail to love as he has striven to do, or that some evil minion of yours can convulse the masses for a month of riot and ruin?  Prince of this World!

"I'd laugh at you if you weren't unspeakable.  You're the Prince of the Lie.  And this is the lie:  that you and the Lord God are equal, locked in combat with one another.  That has never been so! ...

"It is the Lord God who rules," I said.  "and He always has.  You are nothing, and you have nothing and rule nothing...

"And always, always you seek to drive men to despair, to convince them in your envy and greed that He is beyond their reach, beyond their pain, beyond their need...

"It's I who've come to stop you...It's I who've come to reveal that your despair is a fraud!  I'm here to tell one and all that you are no Ruler, and never were, that in the great scheme of things you are no more than a filthy brigand, a thief on the margins, a scavenger circling in impotent envy the camps of men and women!  And I will destroy your Fabled Rule, as I destroy you--as I drive you out, stamp you out, blot you out--and not with hulking armies in baths of blood, not with the raging smoke and terror you so crave, not with swords and spears dripping with broken flesh.  I will do it as you cannot imagine it--I will do it by family, by camp, by hamlet and village and town...I will do it heart by heart.  I will do it soul by soul.  Yes, the world is ready.  Yes, the map is drawn.  Yes, the Scripture goes forth in the common language of the world. Yes.  And so I go on my way to do it, and you have struggled here once more--and forever--in vain."

I'm totally fascinated by man's literary interpretation of the devil, by the way.  If I could do my undergraduate thesis over, it would be about the devil in literature, from Dante to Goethe to Michael O' Brien and now even Anne Rice.  (Realizing, of course, that we're talking about a wide range of--well, levels of literature, here!  Wonder what my thesis professor would say about that?)  There are so, so many.  I love the movie The Devil's Advocate with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves--same thing, fascinating take on the devil.

This whole struggle of Good vs. evil is intellectually fascinating, I think, although actually terrifying when it comes to the real-life fight.  The evil one is certainly real, and although I enjoy how the above fictional voice of Our Lord rightly makes him seem small and inconsequential by comparison, he's not so inconsequential when compared to an individual soul.  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!!

(P.S. I know, I know...not exactly deep reading for Advent! I promise that next I'll tackle a real spiritual book--I'm thinking St. Teresa of Avila...)

Technorati Tags: Books,Catholicism

Gosh...I'm Speechless

...about this Blog Award, or at least I have been for almost a month. It's just that this is my first Blog Award, and it's been, well, kind of a heady time, you know?
Anyway, big thanks to my blogging twin at Shoved To Them, who I can't wait to meet in person, for the Premio Dardos Award:


This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.

I'd like to pass it on to CD at Northwest Reflections,
and my blogging mentor, Andrea, at Gray Family Circus.

Check out those Six-Pack Abs!

A recent study confirmed that the more times a woman becomes pregnant, the more her body begins to physically resemble that of an infant. This phenomenon is even more true with multiple pregnancies that actually result in full-term births, with breastfeeding having a further transformational impact. Some women have been known to become almost like adult-size infants, characterized by soft, rolling tummies, disappearing necks, and thighs that are so chubby you have to take extra care to scrub the rolls thoroughly in the bath.

Bill, if you're reading this, don't worry: I'M JUST KIDDING!

But it's really much better when it's fresh...

Overheard in our kitchen at breakfast yesterday:

MRD, upon seeing our usual Wednesday breakfast item: "Oh, MOM! Not again!"

Me to MRD: "Honey, food is for nourishing your body, not just for enjoying the taste."

MRD: "Mom, Cream of Wheat doesn't nourish my body, it makes me wish I'd never been born!"

As you can see there's no shortage of drama around here.

P.S. The Cream of Wheat waited patiently until lunchtime, when a much hungrier MRD finally reheated it, added a little extra butter, and finished it off.

Wonder what he'll think of the Grinch?

Tonight the kids watched Rudolph for the first time this year. Shortly after I heard the roars of the Abominable Snowman coming up from the TV room, JPD ran into the kitchen in terror.
"He turns out to be nice," I whispered, holding him tight.
Without a word, he ran back downstairs.
Everything was okay after that.

It doesn't get any sweeter than JPD!

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Marian theology is one of my favorite things that I've discovered since becoming Catholic; it is so beautiful, and it makes perfect sense. The Immaculate Conception refers to the fact that Mary herself was born without the stain of Adam and Eve's original sin. God the Father set this up so that Mary would be a perfect human vessel to bring God the Son into the world. Mary is, of course, the only human ever to be perfect in this way, and Jesus, who was both fully human and fully God, inherited her perfect humanity. What a nice feast day for the Advent season, don't you think?

Eternal Love, Spirit of Light and Truth, make a way into my poor mind and allow me to penetrate, as far as it is possible to a wretched creature like myself, into that abyss of grace, of purity, and of holiness, that I may acquire a love of God that is continually renewed, a love of God who, from all eternity planned the greatest of all the masterpieces created by his hands: the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
From all eternity Almightly God took delight in what was to be the most perfect work of His hands, and anticipated this wonderful plan with an outpouring of His grace.
Man, created innocent, fell by disobeying him; the mark of original sin remained engraved on his forehead and that of his progeny who will bear its consequences until the end of time.
A woman brought ruin, and a woman was to bring salvation. The one, being tempted by a serpent, stamped the mark of sin on the human race; the other was to rise through grace, pure and immaculate. She would crush the head of the serpent who was helpless before her and who struggled in vain under her heel; for she was conceived without sin, and through her came grace to mankind.
Protected with grace by him who was to be the Savior of mankind that had fallen into sin, she escaped all shadow of evil. She sprang from the mind of God as a pure ray of light, and will shine like a morning star over the human race that turns to her. She will be the sure guide who will direct our steps toward the Divine Sun which is Jesus Christ. He makes her radiant with divine splendor and points to her as our model of purity and sanctity. No creature surpasses her, but all creation defers to her through the grace of him who made her immaculate. He whom she was to carry in her womb was the Son of God participating with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the glory of her conception.
The Immaculate Conception is the first step in our salvation. Through this singular and unique gift Mary received a profusion of Divine Grace, and through her more.
~ Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

Breakfast in Bethlehem

This weekend our parish hosted Breakfast in Bethlehem for the kids, which is one of our favorite events of the season. Everyone dresses as their favorite character from the nativity story for an all-participation reenactment of the story. We had a little shepherd, a beautiful angel, a regal Magi, and the Blessed Virgin, complete with, of course, a babe in swaddling clothes.
They also have tables set up where the kids can get some hands-on experience of the activities, sounds, and tastes of a real Bethlehem marketplace. We sampled food like hummus and pita bread, olives, honey (with biscuits of course), dates, matzoh-ball soup, and other good stuff. The kids were busy with making pottery, sewing, making jewelry, carpentry (making wooden ornaments), art, games, and baking (decorating angel sugar cookies).
Here the kids are busily making their ornaments:
We love this fun event!

Happy Feast Day, St. Nicholas!

From St. Nicholas Center:

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day.

Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.

One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

One of the oldest stories showing St. Nicholas as a protector of children takes place long after his death. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating the good saint on the eve of his feast day when a band of Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas to take away as booty. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. So, for the next year Basilios waited on the king, bringing his wine in a beautiful golden cup. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year passed slowly, filled with grief. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. However, she was persuaded to have a simple observance at home—with quiet prayers for Basilios' safekeeping. Meanwhile, as Basilios was fulfilling his tasks serving the emir, he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. Imagine the joy and wonderment when Basilios amazingly appeared before his parents, still holding the king's golden cup. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children—which became his primary role in the West.

Another story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children.

Several stories tell of Nicholas and the sea. When he was young, Nicholas sought the holy by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There as he walked where Jesus walked, he sought to more deeply experience Jesus' life, passion, and resurrection. Returning by sea, a mighty storm threatened to wreck the ship. Nicholas calmly prayed. The terrified sailors were amazed when the wind and waves suddenly calmed, sparing them all. And so St. Nicholas is the patron of sailors and voyagers.

Other stories tell of Nicholas saving his people from famine, sparing the lives of those innocently accused, and much more. He did many kind and generous deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. Within a century of his death he was celebrated as a saint. Today he is venerated in the East as wonder, or miracle worker and in the West as patron of a great variety of persons-children, mariners, bankers, pawn-brokers, scholars, orphans, laborers, travelers, merchants, judges, paupers, marriageable maidens, students, children, sailors, victims of judicial mistakes, captives, perfumers, even thieves and murderers! He is known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need (see list).

Sailors, claiming St. Nicholas as patron, carried stories of his favor and protection far and wide. St. Nicholas chapels were built in many seaports. As his popularity spread during the Middle Ages, he became the patron saint of Apulia (Italy), Sicily, Greece, and Lorraine (France), and many cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Belgium, and the Netherlands (See list). Following his baptism in Constantinople, Vladimir I of Russia brought St. Nicholas' stories and devotion to St. Nicholas to his homeland where Nicholas became the most beloved saint. Nicholas was so widely revered that more than 2,000 churches were named for him, including three hundred in Belgium, thirty-four in Rome, twenty-three in the Netherlands and more than four hundred in England.

Nicholas' tomb in Myra became a popular place of pilgrimage. Because of the many wars and attacks in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult. For both the religious and commercial advantages of a major pilgrimage site, the Italian cities of Venice and Bari vied to get the Nicholas relics. In the spring of 1087, sailors from Bari succeeded in spiriting away the bones, bringing them to Bari, a seaport on the southeast coast of Italy. An impressive church was built over St. Nicholas' crypt and many faithful journeyed to honor the saint who had rescued children, prisoners, sailors, famine victims, and many others through his compassion, generosity, and the countless miracles attributed to his intercession. The Nicholas shrine in Bari was one of medieval Europe's great pilgrimage centers and Nicholas became known as "Saint in Bari." To this day pilgrims and tourists visit Bari's great Basilica di San Nicola.

Through the centuries St. Nicholas has continued to be venerated by Catholics and Orthodox and honored by Protestants. By his example of generosity to those in need, especially children, St. Nicholas continues to be a model for the compassionate life.

I love this picture from St. Nicholas Day at our former parish, in 2004. The kids are so little!

St. Nicholas usually makes a stop at our house on the eve of his feast day. The kids leave out their shoes, and St. Nick leaves them goodies. He came again this year!

The Secret Life of Homeschoolers

Advent Reflection

Reflection on Psalm 12:6-9:

Those who look for the fulfillment of God's promises out of a sense that they are entitled to them because of their intelligence, their virtue, their achievements, often discover to their cost that they were looking only for themselves--and it is themselves they find. Those who look for God in their poverty and need find themselves seeing what many longed to see but did not and many longed to hear but did not. Poverty and need are Advent attitudes.

Look Who's Eating with a Spoon!

Go, MPD, go!!

Advent Reflection

"Why the Father Reveals Things to the Childlike"

It becomes very evident why our Lord tells us to become as little children (Mt 18:3), and what is involved in it; we can see how it is related to the theme of vacate, taking a break from being God, to let Him be God. Little children do not have piles of important correspondence on their desks, nor rows of shiny telephones to handle all their important business transactions. Becoming as a little child means unlearning the false solemnity of adolescence, unlearning the false maturity and self-importance of ideology and Puritanism. It means forgetting to run the world, forgetting to run one another's lives. It means forgetting even to run our own lives.
This sheds light also on Saint Paul's words that we must not be conformed to this world. If we would learn the true sense in which God is a God of order, we must first unlearn that kind of order which we try to impose on the world and on ourselves and on one another, simply to subject everything to ourselves, to protect us from the wideness and freedom of God's world. The mystics leave us in no doubt that any real growth in prayer, in communion with God, leads us into the desert, into the place of wild wide wastes, where we can get no bearings. We must come out from behind the security of our homemade identity, our self-appointed responsibilities, into the spaciousness of God's world, a spaciousness whose dimensions and orientation we shall only gradually learn to recognize as freedom, within which we shall only gradually discover our true responsibilities.
~ Fr. Simon Tugwell, O.P.