Merry 7th Day of Christmas, 2018

Book of Hours of Carlos, Duke of Angulema (click link for a glorious large version)

Merry 6th Day of Christmas, 2018

Lorenzo Lotto, Madonna & Child w/ St. Jerome, St. Joseph & St. Anne 

Here's a piece that was more for Advent, but still good for the Christmas season: 5 Ways the Devil Tries to Rob You of Christmas Joy. I sometimes see people discussing how it's even possible to keep celebrating when you are feeling kind of worn out from Christmas exertions:

(5) Fear of the World. ...[A]ll that is in the news, both within the Church and in the everyday, can make the birth of Christ seem like it happened long ago, and the darkness of the world is still here. It is still here. There is still sickness, death, foolishness, greed, pride, lust, wrath, sloth, envy, jealousy and gluttony. There’s still tremendous damage from all the sins in all the history of the world, but we know the cause of our joy, the reason for our hope. If we’re feeling fearful of forgetting, of being trampled by the world, that’s when we must ask our guardian angels to pray with us, to pray for us, and to invite us into the chorus singing, “Oh Come O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.” Christmas isn’t merely a celebration in memory of that day then, it’s living now, just as each Mass, the Eucharistic meal is living and happening now. Jesus tells us what the angels told those who heard their song on that holy night, “Peace on Earth, Good Will toward men.” We are offered what drives away all fear, the heart of our God. 

Laughter and deliberate counter-action to the devil’s attempts to steal away the blessed joy of waiting for this feast day is what we’re called to do. My husband used to tell me that he’d be plagued with self-doubt, and could feel the devil seeking his despair whenever he’d have to work late and find himself walking slowly back to his car in the garage. I told him, “You know what you should do?” “What?” he asked. “Walk faster.” So if you’re still feeling plagued by a thousand cares and worries, walk faster to the manger. The path to the Christ child was a willful act of faith on the part of the three Magi and the shepherds. They willed to ignore the temptations to stop, to play it safe, or to go only part of the way. They came to into the presence of the Holy Family because eventually, it was all they sought, and thus they knew the peace the world cannot give, and the joy the heavens cannot contain. We must all do the same.

Merry 5th Day of Christmas, 2018

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfield, Flight into Egypt 

Merry 4th Day of Christmas, 2018

Daniele Crespi, St. Joseph's Dream 

Msgr. Pope made this video. He notes:

I put the following video together to honor these young martyrs. The musical setting is by Michael Haydn of the hymn for the Feast of the Holy Innocents: Salvete Flores Martyrum – It is from his Vesperae In F for Equal Voices, Soli and Orchestra.The singers are the The Group singing is Collegium Instrumentale Brugense. This music is available at iTunes. The Latin text of this ancient hymn is quite beautiful. I produce here [click his link --ed] the Latin text followed by a fairly literal translation. I would like to call your attention to the second verse and a very charming detail. That verse described these young, two year old martyrs and holding palm branches (the symbol of martyrdom) but as they hold them they play with them, in the way a young child will often fiddle with palm branches in Church. Beautiful and so very human!

 

Merry 3rd Day of Christmas, 2018

detail from Giorgione's Adoration of the Shepherds

the example of Joseph of Nazareth, fully consecrated to the service of Jesus, is still the simplest, safest and most fascinating way to accomplish the Christian vocation and life in a full and joyful way.

~ Pope Francis to the General Chapter of the Oblates of St. Joseph 

Merry 2nd Day of Christmas, 2018

van Honthorst, Adoration of the Shepherds

Surprised to find that I don't seem ever to have run this familiar nativity painting here, and chose it because for the past couple of years or so, in this age of "toxic" masculinity, I find I'm attracted to moments in real life and in art that show men in their goodness: both strong and tender. This St. Joseph caught my eye. I think I will strive for a St. Joseph theme in this year's 12 Days.

I am pondering the distinction the Holy Father made in his Midnight Mass homily between waiting and wanting. We all long, but what is the distinction between the holy longing that draws us closer to Christ and all sorts of other longings?

The shepherds of Bethlehem also tell us how to go forth to meet the Lord. They were keeping watch by night: they were not sleeping, but doing what Jesus often asks all of us to do, namely, be watchful (cf. Mt 25:13; Mk 13:35; Lk 21:36). They remain alert and attentive in the darkness; and God’s light then “shone around them” (Lk 2:9). This is also the case for us. Our life can be marked by waiting, which amid the gloom of our problems hopes in the Lord and yearns for his coming; then we will receive his life. Or our life can be marked by wanting, where all that matters are our own strengths and abilities; our heart then remains barred to God’s light. The Lord loves to be awaited, and we cannot await him lying on a couch, sleeping. So the shepherds immediately set out: we are told that they “went with haste” (v. 16). They do not just stand there like those who think they have already arrived and need do nothing more. Instead they set out; they leave their flocks unguarded; they take a risk for God. And after seeing Jesus, although they were not men of fine words, they go off to proclaim his birth, so that “all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds told them” (v. 18).
To keep watch, to set out, to risk, to recount the beauty: all these are acts of love. The Good Shepherd, who at Christmas comes to give his life to the sheep, will later, at Easter, ask Peter and, through him all of us, the ultimate question: “Do you love me?” (Jn 21:15). The future of the flock will depend on how that question is answered. Tonight we too are asked to respond to Jesus with the words: “I love you”. The answer given by each is essential for the whole flock.
“Let us go now to Bethlehem” (Lk 2:15). With these words, the shepherds set out. We too, Lord, want to go up to Bethlehem. Today too, the road is uphill: the heights of our selfishness need to be surmounted, and we must not lose our footing or slide into worldliness and consumerism.
I want to come to Bethlehem, Lord, because there you await me. I want to realize that you, lying in a manger, are the bread of my life. I need the tender fragrance of your love so that I, in turn, can be bread broken for the world. Take me upon your shoulders, Good Shepherd; loved by you, I will be able to love my brothers and sisters and to take them by the hand. Then it will be Christmas, when I can say to you: “Lord you know everything; you know that I love you” (cf. Jn 21:17).

Merry Christmas, 2018!

Francesco Londonio, circa 1750