Saints of Christmas: Sylvester I

Constantine presenting Rome to St. Sylvester
(from a pious legend)

Born in Rome, he passed through the terrible Diocletian persecutions, winning acclaim among Christians of the time for his behavior during that time. He was made Pope two years in to Constantine's reign, and thus was the first pope to rule after the church emerged from the catacombs. It was he who established the Lateran church as the cathedral of Rome. Though he didn't attend himself, through legates he participated in the Councils of Arles and Nice, respectively, repudiating the Donatist and Arian heresies. According to Alban Butler,

St. Sylvester greatly advanced religion by a punctual discharge of all the duties of his exalted station during the space of twenty-one years and eleven months; and died on the 31st of December 335.

From Poland comes the wonderful "Sylvester's Punch," for which our weather is presently too hot but folks out West in need of some warmth in their veins might like it. When it's cold, I usually make it for Christmas Eve (had to go with Lemon Drops & Bloody Marys this year). The recipe's adapted from here.

2 oranges, grated rind and juice
2 lemons, grated rind and juice
Sugar to taste (@ cup)
4 c. white wine
2 c. light rum
Grate the rinds. Combine with sugar, wine and rum in a large pan. Add strained juices. Heat --don't let boil. Serve hot.

Potent, I warn you! All I know is, anyone who could inspire something that good must have been a wonderful man indeed.

Happy Feast of the Maternity of Mary

Or of St. Basil, if you happen to be Greek Orthodox.

I confess the turn of the year is what my brother calls a peer pressure holiday for me: I note it more because others seem to enjoy it. To me, the emotional new year takes place in September with the start of the academic year, and of course the liturgical new year is the beginning of Advent. And we're still in the middle of Christmas, so tonight doesn't "feel" like a beginning to me.

Nonetheless, we do have something of a New Year's Eve tradition: we go re-live the great battles of the Cold War with Czech & Russian ex-pats and veterans of Voice of America's Russian service. My favorite guest is an expert on Soviet intelligence matters and he always regales us with truly hilarious tales of spying gone wrong or exchanges between diplomats who were very aware of each other's spying, yet professionally unaware. . . . Everything's funny now that it's over. Which I guess is a good summary of the year. God's in his heaven, all's right with the world. Happy New Year everyone.

And P.S. if you live in a cold part of the world: New Year's Eve is the feast of St. Sylvester, and here's a recipe for Poncz Sylwestrowy, St. Sylvester's punch, from Evelyn Birge Vitz' A Continual Feast. More potent than champagne, I promise you.

2 oranges & 2 lemons, grated rind & juice

sugar to taste (about a cup)

4 c white wine

2 c light rum

Grate the rinds of all fruit. Combine with sugar, wine & rum in a large pan. Add the strained juices of the fruit. Heat but do not boil and serve hot. Dilute with hot water if desired --it's strong. Then again, no Pole would. Yields about 16 servings.

In Which I Am Lacking in Christmas Spirit

Having come to the conclusion that my hacking cough is beyond the reach of traditional medicine, I turned to spirits. Specifically I turned to St. Sylvester's punch, a wine-rum-orange-lemon mixture that packs both Vitamin C and a wallop. Brewed a batch, left the room for a moment, and Girl Weed poured it down the drain as she was doing the dishes before I even got a sip.

I laughed this off and brewed another batch. This time I did get a cup, which I drank last night during family movie night (Ninotchka, which washed the taste of Hobbit right out of my mouth). Just now, however, feeling that having a hacking cough, it being freezing and windy outside and it being the Feast of the Holy Family and the Christmas Octave were four fine reasons amply justifying an afternoon cocktail, I went down to discover that Mr. W. did the dishes and once again poured out St. Sylvester's handiwork.

Oh, there's egg nog left. But when you're hankering for something hot and lemony and find yourself deprived due to sudden puritanical impulses in your relatives, it's doubly disappointing.

Merry Christmas, Day 7, St. Sylvester

Image credit: Flight into Egypt, Lu Hungrian (or so says Google Images)

New Year's Eve. This has been the strangest Advent-into-Christmas I can recall.  December has been a steady stream of passings: not tragic deaths, because most of those who succumbed were believers who lived long lives and died well and I reconnected with a lot of people who mean something to me but whom I never see (like that Lyle Lovett song).  But I mean a steady stream --three funerals the week before Christmas alone, and we had to put our old dog down, which hurts more than I feel it should, and I couldn't even tell anyone because they were all burying their spouses or parents, so what was I going to say?  Yesterday morning came word of two more passings: a friend, and a friend's spouse. Both probably mercies given the degree of suffering in illness, but still....  I have several friends battling aggressive cancers right now. Even my favorite commentators on the news are seemingly all in health crises!  We do not mourn as those who have no faith, and there is a terrible beauty in death: what is more sad, noble, and hopeful than Ben Sasse's attitude towards his impending death? 

Nevertheless, I keep trying to rejoice, or at least not stand in the way of others doing so -- willed the sad carcass through the decorating and baking and cooking, compelled myself to go caroling with the parish, have put in appearances at anniversary parties. These things help: welcome little moments of grace and reprieve. But Sister Death keeps breaking in to take over the conversation and reduce all reflection to silence and one realization:  death is a violation of the natural order and I really need a Savior. 

It seems as if other people are feeling this too: Did you know Niall Ferguson has become Christian? I keep running across these surprising conversions, and they all have this flavor of: I really need a Savior. 

Odds and Ends

A little Ratzinger Reflection on New Year's Eve helps. 

Today is the anniversary of BXVI's passing. Listen to Card. Mueller's homily on a mass for the occasion (English!). 

And a funny little moment with BXVI. 

Pope Leo recommends a thorough examination of conscience and Te Deum to end the year. 

Amy Welborn on the Te Deum. 

Throw-back to what I think is the first year I did these 12 Days observances -- how can it be twenty years ago? Optional Memorial of Pope St. Sylvester: if it's cold enough, make his punch.

Possible palate cleanser:  this reflection on Miracle on 34th St. 

Christmas 2024, Day 7

Image: Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels, Eduard Veith, shamelessly pinched from J.R.s Art place

A thread of world's most beautiful Nativity scenes 

Reprising an old New Year's post for the recipe for St. Sylvester's punch. His feast is today. 

And it's the 2nd anniversary of the passing of Pope Benedict XVI of blessed memory. My contemporaneous thoughts and his last Te Deum. 

Happy New Year! And Cheers!

New Year 2015 fireworks in the Philippines, shamelessly pinched from here, where you can see photos of fireworks around the world.

It's still 2014 here in DC, but cheer up. It only FELT like a really bad year.

In fact, things are pretty good. Violence in the US and around the world is actually sharply down. And living conditions everywhere, especially in the third world, are much improved:

Global life expectancy now stands at a new high of 71.5 years, up six years since 1990. In India, life expectancy is up seven years for men, and 10 for women. It’s rising faster in the impoverished east of Africa than anywhere else on the planet. In Rwanda and Ethiopia, life expectancy has risen by 15 years.

And: 

The World Bank’s rate of extreme poverty (those living on less than $1.25 a day) has more than halved since 1990, mainly thanks to China – where economic growth and the assault on poverty are being unwittingly supported by any parent who put a plastic toy under the tree yesterday.

And if China has you worried, good news there too: Christians now outnumber Communists there, and the Gospel is spreading rapidly.  (As Aussie correspondent Brett McS points out, "Gee, who saw that one coming?" --We've been tracking that trend here since at least 2008.)

And the environment? Sea ice expanded and it turns out carbon emissions help the rainforests (or so at least one study suggests).

Evangelization? The number of Catholics is growing worldwide.

If you're not unborn or a Christian in the Middle East, things are actually pretty good. Crime, violence and poverty are down.  For the rest, it was a Year of Our Lord and there's Dave Barry to help you laugh at it. So: Cheers!

It's the feast of St. Sylvester and a little of his punch will set you right up.