Today at Mass we heard strong words delivered from John and then Simeon in the Gospel.
Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments
is a liar, and the truth is not in him. – 1 John“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2Here is a reflection by Msgr. Fischer from Dallas.
The Spirit of Christmas
There is so much busyness, running around, buying of gifts and parties that we can forget the “Spirit of Christmas.” -so many voices saying that Christmas is about the gifts and parties.
Christmas is a time of love and family. It is a time when we remember that the greatest gifts of all are love, family, and friends.
During these difficult economic times when so many people are struggling to put food on the table, keep warm in the cold, and stay in their homes, the season is an opportunity to remember the reason for the season. Christmas is about love and rejoicing. Sadness should have no place on this holiday. All of heaven is rejoicing- as the song says “Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the new-born King”
The Spirit of Christmas is about love, that all life is sacred and loved by God. Even if we are poor, rich, educated, uneducated, sick, healthy, born or unborn all life is sacred by virtue of the fact that God became a baby, born in a stable unknown to the world at that time.
The Christ Child is a reminder that all life has value. The Spirit of Christmas is that all life is touched by God- that family life is holy and that love is the greatest gift we can give one another.
Maybe this Christmas we can give the greatest gift to the people in our life- the gift of love, telling the people in our life “I love you- you are such a gift to me.”
Your friend
Fr Stefan Starzynski
Father Stefan Starzynski is Parochial Vicar at St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax, VA and the Author of the upcoming book Miracles Healing in a Broken World. Father Stefan also serves as Spiritual Advisor to the Paul Stefan Homes for Expectant Mothers. www.paulstefanhome.org
On the heels of Pope Benedict XVI’s declaration of Pope John Paul II’s life of “heroic virtue,” Catholic News Agency features a terrific interview with the Supreme Knight of the KOC, Carl Anderson.
Anderson has long studied JP II and discusses how the late Pope’s life provides tremendous meaning to us today, well after his death. The Supreme Knight also reflects on the Pope’s public suffering and the importance of salvific suffering as a part of our Catholic faith and tradition.
Read the interview here.
John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter – Salvifici Doloris – was a moving dissertation on the true meaning of suffering to form union with Christ. As we celebrate the birth of our savior this Christmas, we also remember John Paul II and all of those who may be suffering this Christmas season — that they can come to realize that their suffering has meaning. May we pray that in their suffering and struggles more come to realize the saving power of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What Americans really need… really
I found myself in a Starbucks in Fishkill, New York last Wednesday afternoon. As I sipped my vanilla latte and overheard pieces of conversation and chitchat of patrons sitting nearby, I could not help being struck once again by the way our culture trivializes Christmas. What always gets to me is that reduction of what Christians consider to be the pivotal event of human history – the birth of God made man— to little more than mind numbingly repetitive background music.
“Oh come let us adore Him… Christ… the Lord!”
And we sip our lattes.
Was I contributing to that trivialization by just being there? Not sure.
Be that as it may, I was there reading a book which has quickly come to fascinate me: What Americans Really Want… Really by Dr. Frank Luntz, one of the nation’s leading communication experts. Americans, writes Luntz in the Introduction, “are desperate for the political-economic-social elixir that will restore our ‘peace of mind’ or at least protect us from further harm.”
Now, in a very succinct nutshell, isn’t that what Americans really want right now, especially this Christmas? I think Starbucks patrons of diverse worldviews and political and philosophical persuasions would agree with me that Luntz nailed it.
One thing, of course, is what most Americans want—really. Another is what we need. Sometimes the two overlap; other times they don’t. So, for what it’s worth, here is my take on the latter. In past years I have referred to this as my “Christmas wish list,” but that was very imprecise. What follows is my prayer list for Christmas 2009. It’s certainly not comprehensive, but hopefully you’ll agree it’s a good start.
Let me begin by expressing my hope that, as a grateful nation, we will redouble our efforts in the New Year to support our veterans after they’ve served our country, and that they will all find peace and the help needed to readjust to civilian life.
And how could I not be mindful of the unemployed? May the good God guide all of them to secure and enduring employment.
And here is a petition very near to my heart: that those women who do not already understand it, will come to realize that their inherent dignity does not depend—as our culture continues to insist—on a putative ‘right’ to abort their unborn babies.
And speaking of the culture, the current fad of minimizing and mischaracterizing Western civilization’s “exceptionalism” is getting a bit tedious, is it not? We could use a resurgence of respect for—and genuine understanding of—the pillars of Western civilization that have fostered freedom, respect for human dignity and the authentic flourishing of persons everywhere.
To that very end, I pray that God will save our country from misguided reforms and from unnecessary and even detrimental government intervention into the lives of its citizens, especially through policies which place the most vulnerable members of our society—the unborn and the elderly—at grave risk.
May we make progress in helping younger generations of Americans to break free from the grossly distorted understanding of human sexuality that presently shapes their understanding of relationships and marriage. And may God also uphold, inspire and direct our efforts to reaffirm again and again fundamental truths about the human person, most especially the unique status of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife, the sanctity of all human life, and the primordial responsibility to follow the dictate of conscience and to preserve in our human communities the conditions necessary for the free expression of religious belief.
Which directs our thoughts and prayers in particular to persecuted Christians everywhere. May God give them strength to continue to be witnesses of Christ’s love and mercy by fully and openly living their faith in spite of intimidation and injustice. And we pray for all persons who are unjustly deprived of their freedom. May God especially inspire and sustain organized and efficacious international cooperation to abolish all forms of human trafficking.
But this Christmas we must also pray for those who suffer not from physical enslavement, but from a very specific moral bondage, namely for those entrapped by addiction to Internet pornography. Let’s be aware of this, brutally honest about it, and help direct those afflicted to get the help they need.
Finally, may continued and promising scientific advances in stem cell research continue to uncover ethically acceptable alternatives to embryo-destructive research and curb the ideologically driven appetite to use human embryos as raw material for biomedical research.
Loving Father, hear our prayer. Amen!
We’re quickly approaching the 1-week red alert for Christmas, and those of us stressed about making those last minute gift purchases should first remember the real Reason for the Season … and then breathe a sigh of relief because there are still some excellent ways to incorporate Christ and our faith into those gifts.
Take the new book, Fatherless. Several of the St. Michael Society editors have read or are reading this novel and have found it to be both informative to the Catholic conscience, redemptive and entertaining. The author has a gift for speaking to us about what it means to be spiritually fatherless and keeps you on the edge of your seat guessing and even, at times, praying for the characters who quickly become very real to you.
Apparently we aren’t the only ones who like it. The book has received rave reviews from numerous notables including the late Fr. Richard Neuhaus of First Things Magazine, moral theologian and expert on Humanae Vitae Dr. Janet Smith, and Christopher West of the Theology of the Body Institute. Check out their brief reviews here, read about the transformative life of the author Brian J. Gail here , and order a copy of the book online at One More Soul, the publisher.
UPDATE: LifeSiteNews.com just posted an excellent review and interview with the author as well as the Executive Director and CEO of One More Soul, Jennifer Giroux.
If your prayer recipient is a faithful prayer warrior, consider a new twist on the traditional full five-decade rosary. A pocket prayer rosary or rosary ring can be kept in a purse or pocket, and those offered by The Printery House are excellent quality. Find them here.
The Printery House has an abundance of good items. You can search by theme, season or occasion (like Christmas) and even by recipient. You can also feel good about being a patron to this shop as ”proceeds from the Printery House help to support the monks of Conception Abbey and Conception Seminary College, where young men receive an accredited college education as they study in preparation for the priesthood.”
And of course, you can never go wrong by giving the gift of 365 days of prayer guidance. A year’s subscription to The Magnificat would help your recipient focus their prayer, participate more fully in daily and weekly Mass, experience the Liturgy of the Hours and give keen insight into many different saints. The Magnificat website even has children books and subscriptions to “Magnifikid .”
Happy shopping … and enjoy keeping Christ in Christmas giving!
Ah, it happens every year, but this one is a doozy! Each Christmas season we hear about the attacks on Christmas, the secularists and anti-religious bigots trying to take Christ out of Christmas, or forget Christmas altogether.
The latest attack on Christmas comes through a picture of Jesus dead on the cross, drawn by an eight year old special needs child as part of his Christmas assignment.
Punishment: Suspension and psychiatric counseling.
Read it here.
Christmas trees verbotten in and around the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
In the aftermath of the whole “climategate” leaked emails fiasco, this seemingly small gesture has a whole new light cast on it. The alarmism of the UN global warming climate change activists has a foundational fatal flaw deeper than, and contributory to, dishonesty and greed: it lacks Hope. The denial of the traditional Christmas trees is a poignant reminder of this fact.
They’ve shut out Hope, and not just purely Christian “hope.” The practice of decorating an evergreen, of course, derives from ancient practices among many pre-Christian peoples–Egyptians, druids, and tribes of the Scandinavian and Germanic regions as well–as a sign of the coming Spring, and the triumph of life over death the depth of the bitter and barren winter–”in the bleak midwinter,” as one carol tells it.
Christianity, as is our wont, adopted this practice when we recognized the Truth that it pointed to: yes, even in the midst of despair and desolation, Hope springs eternal, and was embodied, enfleshed, Incarnated, in Jesus Christ. Decorating an evergreen tree during the celebration of the birth of Christ became one more way to remind ourselves of the indomitable Spirit of Hope. But the practice did arise, preternaturally, among those who recognized that hope for rebirth and new life was good and necessary, but who did not as yet recognize the grander Truth that underlay their pagan practice.
Now of course, there is uncertainty about whether Christ was actually born on December 25 (though many, including myself, believe the evidence suggests it’s a fine estimate), and there is little doubt that winters in Palestine circa 6 B.C. are far less bleak than those in northern Europe. But what there is no uncertainty about is the despair, desolation, and bleakness to which the human spirit is prone when it lacks Hope; and the fact that the Son was born, lived, died, and resurrected at a time and in conditions perfectly coordinated to give the greatest lesson of Hope possible.
Contra the message of the manger in Bethlehem, what is the message of the high thinkers of climatology in Copenhagen if not one of despair (disaster will befall us all unless we do exactly as they say, and even then it may not work)? They rely upon uncertain declamations about the conditions of the world to make certain pronouncements about how we all ought to live and think about each other. And then they make the ominous leap from climate science to “social justice.” They have a particular world-condition in mind as the way things ought to be climate-wise, and then presume to make “social justice” pronouncements based on that climate vision. They heap a zombie social morality on top of tendentious climate science, and expect all to get in line.
They have crafted doctrine (“the science is settled”), established a criteria for being allowed to discuss the doctrine and shut out all voices to the contrary (“what do you know, you haven’t been peer reviewed”), have established governing institutions with something like teaching authority (East Anglia University and the activities of the various UN bodies, summits, and conferences), and they expect the decisions they arrive at to affect not only each individual’s personal choices, but the policies and laws established by national governments, in the name of “social justice.” (This is far more direct and overwhelming influence than that expected by even the U.S. Catholic bishops on the healthcare debate.) They claim to have the best intentions and really believe they have identified the Big Problem facing mankind and are in pursuit of the Right Solution.
But there is a fatal flaw, and it is the same fatal flaw that has led to destroyed societies and mass graves in Russia and eastern Europe, among other places: projecting man-conceived, man-achieved utopian outcomes on earth and imposing the lifestyles and systems of government on populations today which they, the “enlightened ones,” determine are necessary to achieve utopia (or, at the least, assure that the fat grant checks keep rolling in). But the lifestyles and regimes they seek to impose the people would not choose and do not prefer; would crush liberty and deny conscience its sovereignty; would replace true justice with theoretical social justice; would supplant God’s providence with “enlightened” planning.
They deny Hope and uphold their plan. They shut out the Creator and deify a mere creation–worse, an artifice of a creation since their goal is a non-existent utopia of their own conception.
What more perfect way to describe what is happening in Copenhagen, in the editorial boards of the compliant media outlets, and in every capital where the same zeitgeist holds sway? How else to describe what it happening in every capital where the evergreen tree is turned away but the “science” that has undergirded the climatologist castle on a cloud is accepted as the real good news?
Bad climate science likely will not directly result in mass graves, but broken societies and crippled economies are certain–which in turn result in more misery and death. Good society and healthy economic activity grow from recognizing and respecting the laws of God–rules as basic and accessible to all as the Golden Rule–and trusting that as the chips fall where they may, they will fall in a way pleasing to God and therefore healthy for all. That is not scientific planning to avoid uncertain disaster scenarios and achieve materialist utopias; that is Hope.
The really smart people in Copenhagen plan social justice through climate control, or vice versa. They plan your life and my life with the authority of Zeus, but with feet of clay and tile. Meanwhile, Hope is delivered to their door and they say, “No thanks, can’t have any of that nonsense around here.”
“If you ever want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans,” the self-reflective veteran of vocational discernment mutters bemusedly. In Copenhagen, as Hope is turned away with the evergreen, I believe God weeps.
Thomas Crowe tweets @tomcrowe but doesn’t blog anywhere exclusive yet
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