by Susan Tassone
It’s not too late to take a tip on Christmas gift-giving from two Doctors of the Church: St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Teresa of Avila. Help a soul in purgatory reach heaven on December 25. And — marking the eight days of the Octave of Christmas — keep giving, keep helping, through January 1.
December 19
“… Mary acquired a very special relation with God. The blood of Jesus, the heart of Jesus and the body of Jesus are formed by the blood of Mary. By adoring the blood, the sacred wounds and the heart of Jesus, we adore something proceeding from Mary which was assumed by the Son of God.”
-Blessed James Alberione
December 18
“The God who made all things gave Himself form through Mary, and thus He made His own creation. He who created all things from nothing would not remake His ruined creation without Mary.”
-St. Anselm
December 17
He might be born, and see the stars through eyes
That were her eyes in Him! And might she trace
Her features in the molding of His brow?
Here her voice in His, and know the need
He had of her, and uttered in a cry?
And she…and…she might sing for Him at dusk!
Might sing, but no, she could not dare this dream…
But yet, it was a mother’s need to sing…
And then a song the world has never heard,
Rising in the faintest strains of distance
Loveliness had moved along the silver
Shining of her dreams, like light returned
Within a purer light, until it came
To her unfrightened. Caroling of angels’
Praise, and love that lifts to lullaby
Became as one, and blended for a fragile
Music that was hers and only hers…
My soul doth magnify the Lord:… Because he that is
mighty has done great things to me: and holy is his name.
(Excerpts from A Woman Wrapped in Silent by John W. Lynch, reprinted by permission of Paulist Press.)
December 16
“Thanks to her vow of surrender, everything is divinely disposed for this direct hold of God’s word over her.”
-Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, O. P.
Christmas is supposed to be a time of “peace on earth” and, thankfully, it still is, but this joyful season has its detractors – such as those who promulgate the idea that Christmas was founded on a pagan feast. Is this true?
December 15
“God wants to transform us by His grace and to sanctify us, but before He does so, He waits for our assent. When this yes is complete and total, as Mary’s was, God will accomplish His work in us.”
-Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD
The mother of a man who tried to break into an Ohio store is getting the credit she deserves after making her son apologize for the crime and pay for the damages.
December 14
“… the spirituality of waiting is not simply our waiting for God. It is also participating in God’s waiting for us …”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
While it’s true that the Druids once believed holly had magical powers, the use of this ancient evergreen on special occasions does not derive from any group in particular.
