Felix Nativitas Anno Dominio CCVII

Amici, Americani et Compatriotae,

Today - Christmas - is one of the two holiest days in all of Christendom, the other being Easter. the word Christmas derives from two subsidiary words: Christ and Mass. This day is the celebration of the Mass of the Christ Child. Let us remember that the Child born in Bethlehem (which means House of Bread), laying in a manager (a trough of hay for livestock) some 2000 years ago became for us the Bread of Life in the Holy Eucharist. He was the One Who defeated the Caesar of the Roman Empire and He will defeat today's empire of secularism and humanism. Victoria est de Christo, non de hominibus. The first time He can wrapped in swaddling clothes, symbolizing His future death Cross. The next time His coming will be substantively different:

"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:11-16

Δόξα Σοι τῷ δείξαντι τὸ φῶς.

Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία.

Ὑμνοῦμέν σε, εὐλογοῦμέν σε, προσκυνοῦμέν σε, δοξολογοῦμέν σε, εὐχαριστοῦμέν σοι, διὰ τὴν μεγάλην σου δόξαν.

Κύριε Βασιλεῦ, ἐπουράνιε Θεέ, Πάτερ παντοκράτορ, Κύριε Υἱὲ μονογενές, Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, καὶ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα.

Κύριε ὁ Θεός, ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Πατρός, ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς, ὁ αἴρων τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ κόσμου.

Πρόσδεξαι τὴν δέησιν ἡμῶν, ὁ καθήμενος ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρός, καὶ ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.

Ὅτι σὺ εἶ μόνος Ἅγιος, σὺ εἶ μόνος Κύριος, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ Πατρός. Ἀμήν.

Καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν εὐλογήσω σε, καὶ αἰνέσω τὸ ὄνομά σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος.

Glória in excélsis Deo

et in terra pax homínibus bonæ voluntátis.

Laudámus te,

benedícimus te,

adorámus te,

glorificámus te,

grátias ágimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,

Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis,

Deus Pater omnípotens.

Dómine Fili unigénite, Iesu Christe,

Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,

qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis;

qui tollis peccáta mundi, súscipe deprecatiónem nostram.

Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus, tu solus Altíssimus,

Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spíritu: in glória Dei Patris. Amen.

Quintus Dies in Octavo Nativitatis

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

Today is the Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas. The daily Scripture readings include the following:

• Obeying Jesus' Commandments in 1st John 2:3-11
• Praise to God Who Comes in Judgment in Psalm 96:1-6
• Jesus' Presentation in the Temple in Luke 2:22-35

This post will cover the following:

• Today's Homily by Fr. Kirby at Our Lady of Grace
• Loving Our Brother in St. John's Admonition
• The Feast of St. Thomas Becket of Canterbury

Christmas Store Shelves

TODAY'S HOMILY

Fr. Kirby related how he went to a department store yesterday and saw all the main shelves cleared of Christmas decorations. They had been moved to a discount area and the main shelves were now full of items for celebration of St. Valentine's Day. The world had already moved on. Christmas was done and over with. The shopping was finished and the account books were tabulated and closed. Now begins preparation for sales in anticipation of the next great holiday.

However, for us Christians the Christmas Season does not end on the day after Christmas. Rather, it continues for eight days through what is called the Octave of Christmas, and beyond to Epiphany - the time when the Three Magi visited the Christ Child which we will celebrate on January 8th. The miracle of the Incarnation of God as man cannot be distilled into one small day. We need time to reflect upon the gift of God's miracle in salvation history. Therefore, as Christians we still say "Merry Christmas" to each other.

LOVING OUR BROTHER

Yesterday afternoon I went to the gym in the development where my wife and I live in order to exercise some of the calories off that I had consumed over the holiday vacation. There was a white haired man already exercising on the treadmill, then the elliptical trainer, watching the news on the TV. Having already walked a mile or so from my house to the gym, I intended to lift weights only. This man and I began talking. Eventually he led the conversation to politics. It became all too apparent and quite rapidly too that we were not going to agree. Three times I had to ask him that we not discuss politics since we were not going to agree. On the third request he relented. I was very upset by that time and tried not to show my discomfort, simply referring to him as sir. Finally and thankfully the conversation was steered toward more mundane topics: our work out routines, our wives, where we lived before coming to the area, our prior work experiences, etc. We also talked about Church - he attends Mass at St. Matthews and I at Our Lady of Grace. He did try one more time to steer the discussion in a political direction, but thankfully that petered out. When I left the gym to walk the mile back home, I made it a point to shake his hand before I left and wished him well.

The truth is this, amici. I have low (almost non-existent) tolerance for those on the other side of the political spectrum. I have to force myself to remember what St. John wrote in his first epistle that we read today:

Whoever says he is in the light,
yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.
Whoever loves his brother remains in the light,
and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.
Whoever hates his brother is in darkness;
he walks in darkness
and does not know where he is going
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

This man at the gym is not just a fellow Christian, but a fellow Catholic. So today when I heard the Epistle reading from the pulpit at Our Lady of Grace I was reminded of what had happened yesterday at the gym. We have been through a raucous and horrible election season. Everyone's nerves are still on edge. We therefore - especially myself - need to go back to St. John's words: whoever hates his brother is in darkness. I spent 10 years of my youth in the darkness of the "ISM" (I, Self and Me) of alcohol-ISM. I don't need to rent any more space in my head to resentment and hatred, especially given what Psalm 146:3-4 says:

Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.
Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.

The Murder of St. Thomas Becket

ST. THOMAS BECKET OF CANTERBURY

St. Thomas Becket lived from AD 1118 to 1170 in England. He was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. St. Thomas opposed King Henry II's encroachments on the authority of the Church in England. Because of this the King was heard to have said, "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" St. Thomas was then killed by four followers of the King on December 29, 1170. He was subsequently canonized as a Saint in 1173. A shrine to his memory was built in Canterbury, but was later destroyed by order of Henry VIII who sadly succeeded in the 16th century where his predecessor Henry II had failed in the 12th, and thus was born the Church of England out of defiance towards Pope Clement VII's prohibition against unlawfully divorcing Catherine of Aragon. The readings for the Feast Day of St. Thomas Becket of Canterbury include the following:

• A Worker Approved by God in 2 Timothy 2:8-13; 3:10-12
• Praise for Deliverance from Trouble in Psalm 34:2-9
• The Cross and Self-Denial in Matthew 16:24-27

Additionally, the following excerpt is from a letter which St. Thomas had written:

If we who are called bishops desire to understand the meaning of our calling and to be worthy of it, we must strive to keep our eyes on him whom God appointed high priest for ever, and to follow in his footsteps. For our sake he offered himself to the Father upon the altar of the cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day he will give each of us the reward his deeds deserve.

As successors of the apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ's representatives on earth; we receive the honor belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labors. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.

There are a great many bishops in the Church, but would to God we were the zealous teachers and pastors that we promised to be at our consecration, and still make profession of being. The harvest is good and one reaper or even several would not suffice to gather all of it into the granary of the Lord. Yet the Roman Church remains the head of all the churches and the source of Catholic teaching. Of this there can be no doubt. Everyone knows that the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to Peter. Upon his faith and teaching the whole fabric of the Church will continue to be built until we all reach full maturity in Christ and attain to unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God.

Of course many are needed to plant and many to water now that the faith has spread so far and the population become so great. Even in ancient times when the people of God had only one altar, many teachers were needed; how much more now for an assembly of nations which Lebanon itself could not provide with fuel for sacrifice, and which neither Lebanon nor the whole of Judea could supply with beasts for burnt offerings! Nevertheless, no matter who plants or waters, God gives no harvest unless what he plants is the faith of Peter, and unless he himself assents to Peter's teaching. All important questions that arise among God's people are referred to the judgment of Peter in the person of the Roman Pontiff. Under him the ministers of Mother Church exercise the powers committed to them, each in his own sphere of responsibility.

Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown.

Martyrium Innocentum Sacrorum

Murder of the Holy Innocents

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

The title of today's post is "Martyrdom of the Holy Innocents," in memory of the Feast of the Holy Innocents observed on December 28th. The Scripture Readings include the following:

• God is Light in 1st John 1:5-2:2
• Thanksgiving for Israel's Deliverance in Psalm 124:2-8
• The Murder of Bethlehem's Babies in Matthew 2:13-18

Once again, Fr. Kirby at Our Lady of Grace gave an excellent homily full of Scriptural exegesis. I will try to faithfully reproduce what I heard, hopefully without error. I have made a few additions for explanatory purposes, but I am unable to do justice to what I heard at Mass; therefore, any errors are obviously mine.

Our story starts with the Patriarch Jacob whom God named Israel (meaning "God contended") in the Book of Genesis. Jacob had four wives from whom sons were born to form the 12 tribes of the people of Israel:

• Leah (whose sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, and whose daughter was Dinah)
• Rachel (whose sons were Joseph and Benjamin)
• Ziplah (whose sons were Gad and Asher)
• Bilhah (whose sons were Dan and Naphtali)

Jacob had traveled a great distance to find a kinswoman for a wife from his uncle Laban, the brother of Rebekah who in turn was the wife of Jacob's father Isaac. Laban was father to Leah and Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel immediately on seeing her. So Laban told Jacob that after seven years work, he would be allowed to marry Rachel. However, at the end of seven years, Laban switched the arrangement such that Jacob was given Leah and not Rachel. Once again, Laban told Jacob that if he worked another seven years, then he could have Rachel. Finally he did get to marry her. She gave him two children, Joseph of the multicolored cloak fame and Benjamin the youngest. During Benjamin's birth, Rachel died. The place where she died was at that time an out-of-the-way virtually unknown locale to later become Bethlehem. Of this place Jeremiah 1:15 says:

Thus says the LORD:
In Ramah is heard the sound of sobbing,
bitter weeping!
Rachel mourns for her children,
she refuses to be consoled
for her children—they are no more!

The reference all the way back to the wife whom Israel (i.e., Jacob) loved is clear. This passage of Sacred Scripture is interposed in the text where Jeremiah is prophesying about the eventual return the exiles of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) back to the Promised Land. The Assyrian Empire had deported the children of Israel into captivity in 722 BC (the deportation of the Southern Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians would happen later, starting in 597 BC), and Jeremiah 1:8 promised the following:

Look! I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth,
the blind and the lame in their midst,
Pregnant women, together with those in labor—
an immense throng—they shall return.

But it is verse 7 to which Matthew 2:18 points when King Herod orders the murder of all children two years old and under after the visit of the Magi (the Three Wise Men) from the East:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.”

Many people often associate the visit of the Magi with Christmas, but they actually visited some time later when Jesus was around one and half years old. We know this because of the particular Greek word used for child to describe Jesus in Matthew chapter 2 that provides the account of the Magi's visit:

παιδίον - a young child, a little boy or girl, a toddler

Thus, Jesus was no longer an infant babe, but a little boy. We also know that in Luke chapter 1 Jesus was born in a manger within a stable or cave for housing animals, but Matthew 2:11 says that the Magi came to a house where Jesus and his parents were staying. The actual Greek word is:

οἰκία - house, inhabited edifice, dwelling

Therefore, the Magi's visit did NOT happen on or around Christmas, but about one and a half or so years later. For that reason, when Herod heard the Magi's story that they were seeking the new born King of the Jews, he became fearful and jealous, ordering the execution of any male child two years old and under.

Imagine if the police came into the local towns of Lancaster, SC and Waxhaw, NC to shoot dead any child two years old and under. Imagine the devastation that that would wreak on the local community. Now imagine these children of ancient Bethlehem who were forced to give up their lives for our eventual salvation by the Christ child. How often we are ashamed of our Faith. We may say grace over meals at home, but when we dine at a public restaurant, we avoid any prayer and hide our Faith much to the confusion of our own children. Yet the children of Bethlehem without any knowledge had to give up their lives. We need to change course and be proud of the Faith instead of hiding it. We need to tell the truth in love and charity, but tell it nevertheless. And we need to ever be willing to do what these children had to do - give our lives for the Faith. The Holy Innocents died in the House of Bread (which is what Βηθλέεμ in Greek or בֵּית לֶחֶם in Hebrew means) so that we might partake of the Bread of Eternal Life.

Ex Oribus Infantulorum

Rev. Dr. Terry Moore

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

The title of this blog post, Ex Oribus Infantulorum, means "Out of the Mouths of Babes."

Because my Filipina wife was raised as Methodist, she wanted to attend Christmas morning service at the church which her niece frequents: the Weddington United Methodist Church. So we went. The senior pastor, Rev. Dr. Terry Moore, officiated. I had heard a few of his sermons previously and he always seems orthodox Wesleyan in doctrine. This morning's service was equally orthodox but in an unusual way. First, the Gospel reading from Luke 2:1-14 was proclaimed. Then a video was shown (see below) which I think speaks for itself. The one thing I note with fascination is that Rev. Dr. Moore deferred to children to explain the Christmas message this morning just as Father Kirby at Our Lady of Grace deferred to children at yesterday evening's Vigil Mass. Surely this is not a coincidence. Indeed, my AA sponsor would say, "Coincidence is just God's way of revealing His anonymity." His sponsor - a Franciscan priest and my priest confessor - always agreed. Therefore, to both Rev. Dr. Moore and Father Kirby I say bravo!

Vigilia Nativitatis Domini Nostri et Salvatoris Iesus Christi

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

Felix Nativitas! Merry Christmas! Earlier this evening I attended the Vigil Mass of the Nativity at Our Lady of Grace in Lancaster, SC. The Scripture readings included the following:

• A New Name for Zion in Isaiah 62:1-5
• The Establishment of the Davidic Covenant in Psalm 89:4-29
• St. Paul's Address to the Synogogue at Antioch in Pisidia in Acts 13:16-25
• The Birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25

After the Gospel reading, Father Kirby invited all the young children to come up to the front and sit at where the altar rail would be, facing the congregation. What Jesus said in Matthew 19:14 came to my mind:

Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Father Kirby then proceeded to ask the children various questions:

• Who was at the first Christmas? The children answered, "Mary, Jesus' Mother, and Joseph, his foster father."
• Where is Mary? The children pointed to Mary's statue at the Manger scene.
• Where is Joseph? The children pointed again to the Manger scene.
• Who else was there? The children answered, "The Angels and the Shepherds. And the Wise Men are coming too."
• And who else besides people? The children answered, "Sheep and donkeys."

Finally the greatest question came:

Where is Jesus?

The children promptly pointed above the Tabernacle where Jesus Body in the Consecrated Hosts lay:

Crucifix above the Tabernacle
Our Lady of Grace
Lancaster, SC

Father Kirby laughed and pointed to the baby Jesus who is to lay in the Manger. He then asked:

• Why did Jesus come? The children answered, "To save us from our sins."
• And why did Jesus do that? The children said, "Because He loves us."

Father then turned to the congregation and said, "There is nothing more I can add in my homily. Jesus came to a darkened world in turmoil to save us from our sins because He loved us. That is the Christmas message."

As a dear orthodox Anglican friend responded on Facebook where I initially discussed this:

• Christ has died.
• Christ is risen.
• Christ will come again.

Homilia Hodierna a Patre Kirby aput Dominam Nostram Gratiae

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

Today's Daily Readings for the Tuesday in the 4th week of Advent included the account of the Annunciation as recorded in Luke 1:26-38. Father Kirby at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church gave a homily specifically on what the angel Gabriel declared to Mary in verses 31 through 33:

"...Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

Jesus is the son of David and David was the greatest ruler which Israel had ever had. Likewise Israel under David was the most powerful that it had ever been in both antiquity and modern times, and thus the Star of David remains the symbol of the Jewish State. David in a sense was a "son" (de-capitalized "s) of God (and certainly called a man after God's own heart). Jesus was the only begotten Son (capitalized "s") of God. David ruled over the 12 Tribes of Israel and Jesus surrounded Himself with 12 Disciples. David's mother would in the practice of the ancient Hebrew kings be the Queen, not David's wife for he had many wives. This we know was the case when in 1st Kings 2:19-21 when Bathsheba, the mother of King Solomon, went to her son for Adonijah's request that he be granted Abishag the Shunamite as his wife. Verse 19 states:

"Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king stood up to meet her and paid her homage. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king’s mother, who sat at his right."

In the same fashion the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, would become Queen of Heaven and Earth, something we see visualized in Revelation 12:1:

"A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."

Jesus was also promised to rule over the House of Jacob forever. In the story of Joseph and the Multicolored Cloak, and its aftermath in the Book of Genesis, Jacob and his 12 sons (whose progeny would become the 12 Tribes of Israel) ended up in the land of Egypt. Jacob, to whom God gave the name Israel (meaning "God contended," a reference to the time when Jacob wrestled with God in Genesis 32:23-33) of course eventually died, requesting his bones to be returned to the land which God had promised him and his descendants. These descendants became the Hebrews who grew numerous Egypt. When finally after 400 years they left under Moses, they remembered the request of Jacob their father and returned his bones to the land which God had promised to him. From that land would then come David and then David's descendant Jesus who "would rule over the house of Jacob forever." The House of Jacob, the House of David is Mary's House (she being Queen Mother) and hence is Jesus' House (He being the one "of whose kingdom there will be no end").

I have found Fr. Kirby's homilies to be informative, thought provoking and orthodox. I would therefore encourage anyone living in the area of Lancaster, SC to visit Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church.

Prophetia Adventiciae Infantis Christi a Pagano Poeta Romano Publio Virgilio Marone

Amici, Romani, Compatriotae,

The pagan Roman Poet Publius Virgilius Maro who lived from 70 to 19 BC recorded a prophecy of the coming of the Christ Child in his Fourth Eclogue. Details are given in Christ the Greatest Black Swan: The Unexpected Expected Messiah at The American Catholic blog.

Publius Virgilius Maro
Poeta Romano

The original text is provided below:

Sicelides Musae, paulo maiora canamus.

non omnis arbusta iuvant humilesque myricae;

si canimus silvas, silvae sint consule dignae.

Ultima Cumaei venit iam carminis aetas;

magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo.               5

iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna,

iam nova progenies caelo demittitur alto.

tu modo nascenti puero, quo ferrea primum

desinet ac toto surget gens aurea mundo,

casta fave Lucina; tuus iam regnat Apollo.               10

Teque adeo decus hoc aevi, te consule, inibit,

Pollio, et incipient magni procedere menses;

te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,

inrita perpetua solvent formidine terras.

ille deum vitam accipiet divisque videbit               15

permixtos heroas et ipse videbitur illis

pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem.

At tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu

errantis hederas passim cum baccare tellus

mixtaque ridenti colocasia fundet acantho.               20

ipsae lacte domum referent distenta capellae

ubera nec magnos metuent armenta leones;

ipsa tibi blandos fundent cunabula flores.

occidet et serpens et fallax herba veneni

occidet; Assyrium vulgo nascetur amomum.               25

At simul heroum laudes et facta parentis

iam legere et quae sit poteris cognoscere virtus,

molli paulatim flavescet campus arista

incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva

et durae quercus sudabunt roscida mella.               30

Pauca tamen suberunt priscae vestigia fraudis,

quae temptare Thetin ratibus, quae cingere muris

oppida, quae iubeant telluri infindere sulcos.

alter erit tum Tiphys et altera quae vehat Argo

delectos heroas; erunt etiam altera bella               35

atque iterum ad Troiam magnus mittetur Achilles.

Hinc, ubi iam firmata virum te fecerit aetas,

cedet et ipse mari vector nec nautica pinus

mutabit merces; omnis feret omnia tellus.

non rastros patietur humus, non vinea falcem,               40

robustus quoque iam tauris iuga solvet arator;

nec varios discet mentiri lana colores,

ipse sed in pratis aries iam suave rubenti

murice, iam croceo mutabit vellera luto,

sponte sua sandyx pascentis vestiet agnos.               45

'Talia saecla' suis dixerunt 'currite' fusis

concordes stabili fatorum numine Parcae.

Adgredere o magnos—aderit iam tempus—honores,

cara deum suboles, magnum Iovis incrementum.

aspice convexo nutantem pondere mundum,               50

terrasque tractusque maris caelumque profundum;

aspice, venturo laetantur ut omnia saeclo.

O mihi tum longae maneat pars ultima vitae,

spiritus et quantum sat erit tua dicere facta:

non me carminibus vincat nec Thracius Orpheus               55

nec Linus, huic mater quamvis atque huic pater adsit,

Orphei Calliopea, Lino formosus Apollo.

Pan etiam, Arcadia mecum si iudice certet,

Pan etiam Arcadia dicat se iudice victum.

Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem;               60

matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses.

incipe, parve puer. qui non risere parenti,

nec deus hunc mensa dea nec dignata cubili est.