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Like megachurches, homeschooling, and Tim Tebow, “Merry Christmas� has become a religio-cultural Rorschach test. If you prefer that department stores greet you with a “Merry Christmas,� or at least wish they didn’t feel compelled to adopt the anodyne “Happy Holidays,� chances are good you’re a conservative Christian of some stripe. If, on the other hand, you prefer to talk about how ridiculous it is that anyone should care how a department store greets them, or if you prefer to mock that concern and say that people who feel that concern should (a) get a life or (b) stop trying...

January 9, 2012 The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord   Reading 1 Is 42:1-4, 6-7 Thus says the LORD:Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,upon whom I have put my spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.a bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,I have grasped you by the hand;I...

Although a large number of shops in Tehran put a Christmas tree in their windows to welcome Christmas season, the Christmas theme in several shopping centers has displeased the regime dependent media. Last week you could sense the Christmas season in several streets in Tehran. Many shops had placed a decorated Christmas tree where it could easily capture the attention of passersby. But it seems that this trend has upset the pro-government media! ... "One of the main symbols of Christianity, the majority religion of the world, is Christmas which is known by a colorfully decorated tree. What's the point...

On Christmas and Epiphany "Christmas Is Joy Because We See -- and at Last We Are Sure -- That God Is Man's Good" VATICAN CITY, JAN. 6, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave last Wednesday during the general audience held in Paul VI Audience Hall. The Pope reflected on the feasts of Christmas and the Epiphany. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, I am pleased to welcome you in this first general audience of the new year, and with all my heart I offer you and your families my affectionate good wishes:...

January 8, 2012   The Epiphany of the Lord   Reading 1 Is 60:1-6 Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,the glory of the Lord shines upon you.See, darkness covers the earth,and thick clouds cover the peoples;but upon you the LORD shines,and over you appears his glory.Nations shall walk by your light,and kings by your shining radiance.Raise your eyes and look about;they all gather and come to you:your sons come from afar,and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see,your heart shall throb and overflow,for the riches of...

January 7, 2012 Christmas Weekday  Reading 1 1 Jn 5:14-21 Beloved:We have this confidence in God,that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,we know that what we have asked him for is ours.If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,he should pray to God and he will give him life.This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.There is such a thing as deadly sin,about which I do not say that you should pray.All wrongdoing is sin,...

SAINT RAYMOND OF PENAFORT Confessor, 1175-1275   LIKE his contemporary, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Raymond was of noble descent; his was the illustrious family of Penafort, related to the kings of Aragon. He was born at Villafranca, near Barcelona, Spain, in 1175. As a boy he was a bright and able student; at twenty he was already a professor of philosophy. He taught in Barcelona for fifteen years, then went to Bologna, Italy, to study for his doctorate in civil and canon law. He received the degree in 1216, and three years later returned to Spain.On Good Friday of the year...

The Visit of the Wise Men 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b] and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told...

January 6, 2012   Christmas Weekday   Reading 1 1 Jn 5:5-13 Beloved:Who indeed is the victor over the worldbut the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,not by water alone, but by water and Blood.The Spirit is the one who testifies,and the Spirit is truth.So there are three that testify,the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,and the three are of one accord.If we accept human testimony,the testimony of God is surely greater.Now the testimony of God is this,that he has testified on behalf of...

Kristy, 15, was in such pain after days of being attacked with sticks, a metal bar, hammer and chisel that he begged to die, jurors heard. His brother-in-law Eric Bikubi was joined by his partner, Kristy's sister Magalie, in the horror, said Brian Altman QC, prosecuting. And his other siblings were forced to join in before they were all placed in the bath to be hosed down in cold water with a shower head by Bikubi on Christmas Day, 2010. ... The jury was told that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the defendants are originally from, witchcraft...

January 5, 2012 Memorial of Saint John Neumann, Bishop   Reading 1 1 Jn 3:11-21 Beloved:This is the message you have heard from the beginning:we should love one another,unlike Cain who belonged to the Evil Oneand slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil,and those of his brother righteous. Do not be amazed, then, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to lifebecause we love our brothers.Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer,and you know that...

  January 4, 2012 Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious   Reading 1 1 Jn 3:7-10 Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous,just as he is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the Devil,because the Devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil. No one who is begotten by God commits sin,because God's seed remains in him;he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. In this way,the children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain;no...

A young man dressed as “Father Frost” – the Russian equivalent of Father Christmas – was stabbed to death in Tajikistan on Monday in an attack police believe was motivated by religious hatred, two police sources said. A crowd attacked 24-year-old Parviz Davlatbekov and stabbed him with a knife as he visited relatives in the early hours of Monday dressed as Father Frost, who by tradition brings Russian children presents at New Year. Russian cultural influence remains strong in Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic. “We have witness statements that say the crowd beat Parviz and stabbed him with a knife,...

Did anyone get a lousy gift this past Christmas?

January 3, 2012 Christmas Weekday   Reading 1 1 Jn 2:29-3:6 If you consider that God is righteous,you also know that everyone who acts in righteousnessis begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on usthat we may be called the children of God.Yet so we are.The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.Beloved, we are God's children now;what we shall be has not yet been revealed.We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,for we shall see him as he is.Everyone who has this hope based...

January 2, 2012 Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church   Reading 1 1 Jn 2:22-28 Beloved:Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you,then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise...

Police car bears brunt of damagePolice officers in the town of Sar-lat in southwest France were nonplussed when a camel smashed in the front window of their Ford Focus patrol car earlier this month. "There was nothing I could do," police officer Laurent Legal, who collided with the animal, said. "It's a good thing I wasn't driving very fast." The 500-kilogram animal, named Pépette, was part of a Christmas market attraction, along with his mate Cléopatre. After a hectic day of rides and a stint in the petting zoo, Pépette was spooked by a number of fans who crowded its...

On Christmas The "Love Story Between God and Man Passes by Way of the Manger of Bethlehem" VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in Paul VI Hall. The Pope reflected on the approaching feast of Christmas. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, I am pleased to receive you in this general audience, just days before the celebration of the Lord's birth. During these days, the greeting on everyone's lips is "Merry Christmas! Season's Greetings!" Let us ensure that, even in today's society,...

December 31, 2011   The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas   Reading 1 1 Jn 2:18-21 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One,and you all have knowledge. I write to you not...

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through Nigeria, not a creature was stirring except for the members of the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram, preparing to bomb Christian churches across the country and setting on fire the cars of worshippers inside a church just outside of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state. Christmastime in the United States now brings with it a new tradition that is becoming as familiar as eggnog, mistletoe, and the Macy’s Parade: skirmishes in the ongoing cultural war on Christmas. But as the recent attacks in Nigeria prove, in Muslim lands around the world there...

December 30, 2011 Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph   Reading 1 Gn 15:1-6; 21:1-3 The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying:"Fear not, Abram!"I am your shield;I will make your reward very great."But Abram said,"O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,if I keep on being childlessand have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?"Abram continued,"See, you have given me no offspring,and so one of my servants will be my heir." Then the word of the LORD came to him:"No, that one shall not be your heir;your...

The Holy Family - held together by Love through all their problemsHomily for the Sunday in the Octave of Christmasby Fr. Tommy LaneThe Holy Family of Nazareth, Jesus, Mary and Joseph are put before us by the Church this weekend as a model for our families. We call them “The Holy Family” but that does not mean that they did not have problems. Just as every family has to face problems and overcome them, or to put it another way, has to carry a cross, so also The Holy Family had to carry crosses. Their many crosses come to mind...

Despite many a pundit's tale, it wasn't secular society that just evicted Christ from Christmas. This assault on faith is neither new nor limited to the holidays. Instead of a peculiar people living as salt and light to a lost world, far too many Believers let the divine splendor of Light descending to Earth be eclipsed under the dull luster of consumerism. We Christians seem unsatisfied by Christ's coming and instead compensate through seeking worldly ends. But if we are too busy living the same lives as unbelievers, who else will give an account of the rich hope that's within...

Harry’s older cousin Oliver got as much pleasure from helping to give the present as he did from receiving his own. As for Harry – the monkey never left his side….

Dear friends and relatives, How are you? I HOPE YOU HAD TIME TO PRAY in silence before Baby Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament so as to celebrate Christmas for the One WHOSE BIRTHDAY we celebrate and not for all the other motives and desires that we have allowed our secular world in recent years to instill into our heads and hearts. How many of our children have been spoiled in waiting for presents at Christmas and have not learned from their parents that Christmas is a time to bring to this divine Baby presents of prayers, sacrifices and adoration?...

December 29, 2011   The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas   Reading 1 1 Jn 2:3-11 Beloved:The way we may be sure that we know Jesusis to keep his commandments.Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandmentsis a liar, and the truth is not in him.But whoever keeps his word,the love of God is truly perfected in him.This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to youbut an old...

(CBS/WMAZ) BATAVIA, N.Y. According to CBS affiliate WMAZ, Jacquetta Simmons, 26, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, says State Police Trooper Tracy Patterson. Simmons faces the second count because the victim, 70-year-old Grace Suozzi, is over 65. On Sunday, Simmons was reportedly still being held in Genesee County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. Patterson said Simmons had receipts for everything in her bags, WMAZ reports.

  Christmas Lights David C. Stolinsky Dec. 28, 2011 The North Korean government recently warned South Korea not to put Christmas lights within sight of the border, because this would be “psychological warfare.” There are two ways to look at this odd situation: (1) What kind of government is so unpopular that it feels threatened by pretty lights? (2) What kind of lights are so powerful that they threaten tyrannical governments? I have always loved Christmas lights. The days grow short at this time of year, especially in the North, and colored lights in windows and on trees and...

Misfit Politics has put together a video with a very astute observation about how Obama looks at Christmas vs Ramadan: Surprised? Me neither.

Travelers seemed to get a chuckle out of the holiday levity. But Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials weren't amused and initially said the dispatcher could be strongly disciplined.

Barack Obama did not release a special statement for Christmas this year. From the White House website: Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, December 27, 2011, 4:20 PM Barack Obama did not release a special statement for Christmas this year. From the White House website: But, Barack Obama did issue a statement in celebration of the fake holiday Kwanzaa on Monday December 26. From the White House website: Michelle and I send our warmest wishes to all those celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. Today marks the beginning of the week-long celebration honoring African American heritage and culture through the seven...

December 28, 2011 Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs   Reading 1 1 Jn 1:5-2:2 Beloved:This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christand proclaim to you:God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.If we say, "We have fellowship with him,"while we continue to walk in darkness,we lie and do not act in truth.But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,then we have fellowship with one another,and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.If we say, "We are without sin,"we deceive ourselves, and the...

The mainstream media has reported this as the "Santa killer." No mention that it was an Islamic honor killing until this Dallas Morning News story. Our daughters and granddaughters are going to be the ones who will suffer because of for this obfuscation and excusal of barbarism. This has been going on for years. When Amina and Sarah Said were brutally murdered by their father, also in Texas, on New Year’s Day 2008 for the same reason -- having non-Muslim boyfriends -- I thought, this is it. This is going to break the dam wide open. America would not, could...

“I wouldn’t touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.” There’s a bit of inherent risk when shopping online. You’re handing over your credit card to a retailer that promises to ship you something in return. Most of the time transactions are completed without issue and orders are fulfilled as promised. Sometimes things go awry, though. And sometimes Best Buy ruins Christmas. Best Buy started reaching out to customers earlier this week — you know, mere days before Christmas — that the retailer was unable to fulfill orders placed as far back as November. Big Blue was sorry but they were...

BARBOURSVILLE - There are a lot of things to see at the mall in the days leading up to Christmas. There are last minute deals and last minute gifts. But Friday night, at the Huntington Mall, Mr. and Mrs. Claus made it official, tying the knot in front of family, friends and curious mall onlookers. Their story goes like this: Ralph Grimm met Debbie Knapp a year ago at the Huntington Mall at the Santa display. They decided the spot where they met would make the perfect spot to get married, and decided tying the knot dressed as Mr. and...

My christmas presents from my mother today got me thinking about how times have changed. I have never grown up on a farm but many of my relatives did. A few of the old holdouts still do. Family reunions were almost always on a farm somewhere. I spent summers as a kid on farms owned by relatives. What did my mother give me? Well before I talk about that I need to explain a few things. The hard lessons learned during the great depression stuck a little more permanently in my family tree than most. I grew up saving rubber...

The Feast Of St. Stephen – A Case Of Bad Timing? Dec 26th, 2011by Gary Zimak. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)One day after the beautiful celebration of Christmas, the Church honors the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen.  Talk about bad timing!  Isn’t this supposed to be the season of joy and peace?  Is the Church calendar so crowded that we had to squeeze Stephen in this week?  Wouldn’t he be a better fit during the season of Lent?In reality, the Church knows exactly...

Last week, I documented more than a dozen ways in which, in just the past six months, the Obama administration is trampling on the religious liberties of America's finest military service members. (If you haven't read Part 1, you can find it at creators.com.) I am very disappointed by the dissolution of religious liberties in the U.S. military. Times have sadly and radically changed since my father served in World War II, since I served four years in the Air Force and since my two brothers, Wieland and Aaron, served in the Army in Vietnam. (My brother Wieland paid the...

December 27, 2011 Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist   Reading 1 1 Jn 1:1-4 Beloved:What was from the beginning,what we have heard,what we have seen with our eyes,what we looked uponand touched with our handsconcerns the Word of life ?for the life was made visible;we have seen it and testify to itand proclaim to you the eternal lifethat was with the Father and was made visible to us? what we have seen and heardwe proclaim now to you,so that you too may have fellowship with us;for our fellowship is with the Fatherand with his Son, Jesus Christ.We...

Grapevine police investigate the scene where they found seven people dead outside Dallas in Grapevine, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. Four women and three men who police believe to be related were found apparently shot to death, and authorities said they believe the shooter is among the dead. Six members of a Texas family apparently opened Christmas presents just before a relative dressed as Santa Claus showed up, opened fire and killed them before killing himself, police said Monday. Grapevine police spokesman Sgt. Robert Eberling said the shooter showed up in the Santa outfit shortly before gunfire erupted and was...

Chesterton on Christmas   GEORGE MARLIN For a quarter of a century, my wife, Barbara, and I have printed special Christmas cards that contained an excerpt of Chesterton's reflections on the season. Reading through them I was, once again, awed by Chesterton's vision. For those of us who love and admire the British Catholic journalist, Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), he lives still in his Inverness cape, with sword cane and pince-nez. And he lives because his words are timeless. His commentaries and views on the continuing dehumanization of man, the so-called social sciences, the idealistic movements and totalitarian ideologies, and...

A Christmas Cookie Recipe in the Style of the Revised TranslationBy: Msgr. Charles Pope Please accept a light-hearted post on Christmas Monday wherein we ponder a Christmas Cookie Recipe in the fine and polished style of the Revised Translation of the Mass.Please also understand, as most of you know, I am a big fan of the new translation we are using. I like it! But this little recipe that came my way was too much fun not to share.I do not know the source of this recipe (it’s kicking around the Internet) and some of you will have seen...

There comes a time at most large family gatherings when a heated political argument breaks out. And by “heated political argument” what I mean is “someone just repeats something they heard on Hannity’s radio show that you know to be completely untrue.” You may be the lone liberal in a conservative family, or you may have one right-wing uncle in your left-wing family, but this will happen. What to do? If you have a “smart phone,” just bookmark Snopes now. That’ll take care of the really weird stuff. (Well, not this level of weird, but “I read that airlines don’t...

The congregation of the embattled GKI Yasmin church in Bogor was forced to move its Christmas prayers to a member’s house after Islamic groups assembled at the disputed site and threatened to challenge the sermon on Sunday. The service was slated to start at 9 a.m. in the sealed church on Jalan Abdullah bin Nuh, but the congregants went elsewhere after members of the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami), the Islamic Reform Movement (Garis) and the Bogor Muslim Community (KMB) objected to that plan. The opposition protestors came to the church in the morning and shouted to guarding police officers...

Christmas is a time when many Americans reflect on the many blessings enjoyed by each of us in this great nation. Churches and synagogues are full as Americans, of all faiths, take time to pause and consider the meaning of our lives and our responsibilities to others. What a pity that our President does not participate in these simple acts of faith! Our nation would be better if he did. There has been much ink spilled over President Obama's belief in God (or lack thereof), in the strength of his faith, in questioning what his faith is ( Christian, Muslim,...

A belated Merry Christmas to my fellow FReepers.

December 26, 2011 Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr   Reading 1 Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 Stephen, filled with grace and power,was working great wonders and signs among the people.Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,Cyrenians, and Alexandrians,and people from Cilicia and Asia,came forward and debated with Stephen,but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. When they heard this, they were infuriated,and they ground their teeth at him.But he, filled with the Holy Spirit,looked up intently to heavenand saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,and he...

Seven People Found Dead in Dallas-Area Apartment Published December 25, 2011 GRAPEVINE, Texas – Seven people believed to be related had opened their Christmas gifts and started cleaning up the wrapping paper when they were shot to death in a suburban Texas apartment, police said Sunday. Authorities said they believe the shooter is among the dead, but got a warrant before doing a full search on the small chance that it was otherwise. Four women and three men, aged 18 to 60, were found in an adjoining kitchen and living room area when police entered the apartment around midday, said...

  More Politically Correct Carols, but Where Are the Real Ones? David C. Stolinsky Dec. 26, 2011 http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_G-aof4zoffk/TPkhsECvywI/AAAAAAAABuk/wY1a1eiwaaU/s400/choice-on-earth-herod.jpg What Child Was This? Planned Parenthood, which receives taxpayer funds, offered gift certificates for its birth-control services, including abortion. Mark Steyn suggested including a greeting card showing an empty manger − which may be the real purpose. What child was this who, laid to rest,In the trash is sleeping, Whom angels greet with anthems sweet To cover up their weeping? This, this is no one now, While only to ourselves we bow. Haste, haste to turn away, We may have a...