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“The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple” (Luke 2:22-40) Yesterday was Christmas, and now we’re into the days after Christmas. For us, these days mean eating leftovers, returning gifts that don’t fit, and taking down the decorations. But what about for Jesus? What did the days after his birth mean for him? Our text is one the few places we have an account of what happened during that time. It’s the story of what happened forty days after his birth, when “The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple.” Actually, the first event after Christmas we have is found...

Is this the face of Jesus as a boy? Italian police reverse the ageing process on image taken from the Turin Shroud to create photo-fit of Christ as a young child This is the face of Jesus Christ as a child – according to Italian police. Detectives used computer forensic techniques that have helped to catch mafia bosses to generate the image. First, they created a photo-fit picture from the facial image in the Turin Shroud, which many believe to be that of Jesus. They then used a computer program to reverse the ageing process by reducing the jaw size,...

...When an angel shows up at your door all unexpected, with a sword at his side and your name on his lips, it means that something is about to change for good. And, whether you like it or not, you're involved... How the knees of your heart must have knocked that day the angel of the Lord showed up at your house...saying words like 'hail' and calling you 'blessed'—things you say to kings and princes, not to girls in Galilee. ...the countdown of days to his coming begins...Your growing belly testifies to it. The countdown to God's rescue for his...

After all, Christmas offers nothing but small.

Luke 1:26-32 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not,...

Rome, Feb. 11, 2005 (CNA) - Forensic scientists in Italy are working on a different kind of investigation—one that dates back 2000 years. In an astounding announcement, the scientists think they may have re-created an image of Jesus Christ when He was a 12-year old boy.Using the Shroud of Turin, a centuries-old linen cloth, which many believe bears the face of the crucified Christ, the investigators first created a computer-modeled, composite picture of the Christ’s face.Dr. Carlo Bui, one of the scientists said that, “the face of the man on the shroud is the face of a suffering man. He...

The Feast of the Holy Innocents 113. Since the sixth century, on 28 December, the Church has celebrated the memory of those children killed because of Herod's rage against Christ (cf. Mt 2, 16-17). Liturgical tradition refers to them as the "Holy Innocents" and regards them as martyrs. Throughout the centuries Christian art, poetry and popular piety have enfolded the memory of the "tender flock of lambs"(125) with sentiments of tenderness and sympathy. These sentiments are also accompanied by a note of indignation against the violence with which they were taken from their mothers' arms and killed.In our own times,...

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: The News Bizarre Dec. 12, 2002, 2:53PM Santa Claus gets icy reception in Austria Associated Press Associated Press Margit Hammerl and Horst Strauss, members of the Pro-Christkind (Pro-Christ Child) Society, pose in front of a nativity scene at a Vienna Christmas market with Pro-Christkind stickers on their jackets. VIENNA, Austria -- Ho, ho, ho? No, no, no! Santa Claus is coming to town -- and many Austrians wish he'd just stay home. The jolly old elf is getting an icy reception in this alpine country that gave the world "Silent Night" and clings to beloved Christmas...