By DONALD DeMARCO The earth is a prism through which The Divine Light is refracted, revealing Light as the glory of God, His gift of Self, The glow of His Grace The genius of His Creation, The grandeur of His Truth, The goodness of His Being, The greatness of His Power, The gold of His Beauty, The graciousness of His Providence, The generosity of His Spirit, The gentleness of His Love The gladness in His Heart, And the gaiety of His Birth.
By JOANNE BUTLER Readers of a certain age may recall when a politician in 1992 claimed that Jesus was the child of a single mother. Even The New York Times acknowledged this was wrong! The Blessed Virgin had a husband — St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. God did not arrange this just to protect Mary’s honor; He did it to teach us about the importance of fathers. The Florentine painter Fra Angelico did a marvelous painting of the marriage of Mary and Joseph in 1432-1435. The painting is both sacred and homely. With a Jewish high priest at the center, the couple make their vows. Mary has her right hand discreetly over her abdomen — a sign of…Continue Reading
By DEREK BECHER I saw an angel on the sill, The dawn of Christmas Day; It gazed upon my little crèche And pressed its hands to pray… Her whispered words were weaving Into frost upon the pane; It printed pretty lyrics That the seraph would proclaim. And then she strummed a little harp, So smoothly, gently, there; And then I heard her softly sing This lovely little prayer: “Little baby in the crib I’ll guard you ever so; Baby Jesus, I’m with you Wherever you will go.” She smiled so serenely, then, Her face a lovely sight, And fluttered to the heavens In the Christmas morning light. I saw an angel on the sill, One blessed Christmas morn; She sang…Continue Reading
By MARK AMOROSE Luke 2:18 Few ever spoke to me for good or ill. Why should they? Who am I to beg a word? My father was as nameless as this hill, as I am who here daily drive and herd. But last night came one greater than them all — those hereabout who never notice me — and he was shining brighter than the ball that in dark night enables us to see. He spoke to me the word I speak to you, told of the long-expected chrismed One, greater than David, born as David’s son, less than imagined, more than prophets knew. The Mighty God whose Name we may not speak has not despised the nameless and the…Continue Reading
By DEREK BECHER Dear Lord On this lovely, holy Eve, Be with me, I pray And guide me to understand your coming, And why it is we celebrate, especially now. Help me to look beyond the presents and their flowing ribbons; Open my heart and my eyes, and help me to see and feel The suffering that shakes our Earth. Many hunger, and are cold and lonely In this world of plenty; And many stray from your light, by evil and its ways. And the hustle and bustle, How I fear it’s replaced the real joy we should feel. That starry night so long ago So quietly, peacefully, you entered our world And through your love, your guidance, your sacrifice…Continue Reading
By DEREK BECHER I saw an angel on the sill, The dawn of Christmas Day; It gazed upon my little crèche And pressed its hands to pray… Her whispered words were weaving Into frost upon the pane; It printed pretty lyrics That the seraph would proclaim. And then she strummed a little harp, So smoothly, gently, there; And then I heard her softly sing This lovely little prayer: “Little baby in the crib I’ll guard you ever so; Baby Jesus, I’m with you Wherever you will go.” She smiled so serenely, then, Her face a lovely sight, And fluttered to the heavens In the Christmas morning light. I saw an angel on the sill, One blessed Christmas morn; She sang…Continue Reading
DENVER — A federal district court issued an order Tuesday, December 11 that permanently prevents the federal government from enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s abortion-pill mandate against six Christian organizations represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The order also declares that the mandate violates the organizations’ rights protected by the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The previous administration’s mandate forces most employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception through their health plans under threat of heavy penalties. The current administration’s Department of Justice abandoned its defense of the flawed mandate. “Religious organizations have the freedom to peacefully operate according to their beliefs without the threat of punishment by the government. Tuesday’s order…Continue Reading
By STEPHEN M. KRASON (Editor’s Note: Stephen M. Krason’s Neither Left nor Right, but Catholic column appears monthly [sometimes bimonthly]. He is professor of political science and legal studies and associate director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is also co-founder and president of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists and a lawyer. Among his books are: Liberalism, Conservatism, and Catholicism; The Transformation of the American Democratic Republic; Catholicism and American Political Ideologies, and a Catholic political novel, American Cincinnatus. A slightly different version of this article appeared in Crisismagazine.com. The views expressed here are his own.) + + + Recently, the American Association of University Professors’ Committees on Academic Freedom…Continue Reading
By DONAL ANTHONY FOLEY Blood of the Martyrs: Trappist Monks in Communist China by Theresa Marie Moreau; 187 pages, available on Kindle and limited hardcover at Amazon.com. Blood of the Martyrs details the persecution of a group of Cistercian monks following the establishment of the postwar Communist government in China, a government determined to destroy all traces of Christianity in the country. It makes for instructive reading in the light of the recent agreement between the Vatican and China regarding the appointment of bishops in the country, and the growing persecution facing Catholics and Christians generally there under the increasingly authoritarian regime of Xi Jinping. The story of the hardships and martyrdom of these mostly Chinese religious was concluded in…Continue Reading
By TERENCE P. JEFFREY (Editor’s Note: Terence P. Jeffrey is the editor-in-chief of CNSnews.com. Creators Syndicate distributes his column. All rights reserved.) + + + It may be a prudent policy to always be polite to the police, but does that mean Americans must give up the right to be rude? A question similar to this — transcending it, in fact — is now before the Supreme Court of the United States. It started at an Alaskan event called “Arctic Man,” where an individual engaged in two contentious conversations with two policemen. The second conversation ended with the policemen arresting the person, who, according to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by the attorney general of Alaska, “was charged…Continue Reading