Christmas should be a time of great joy, but oftentimes it isn’t. Perhaps the joy is lost in the season’s gaudy and frantic commercialization that has turned a great holy day into a secular holiday. There is also the loud revelry of winter parties present that tends to suffocate the memories of calm Christmases past. … Read more
It is Christmas and we all think back on Christmases past not without a bit of nostalgia for what the feast represents. We think back on Christmas trees, manger scenes and midnight Masses. We recall family dinners, marveling children and Christmas carols. Such memories fill us with joys in a brutal world ever more joyless. … Read more
As Christmas approaches, there is much talk of a post-Christian America. No one can dispute that the Christ Child finds no place in many secular hearts. For these, Christmas is merely a time of holiday and sparkle with little real significance. Over the ages, so many have followed the route of those who dismiss Christmas … Read more
In the moral order, the world is composed largely of sinners, selfish creatures who live not to serve God, but to please themselves. These self-serving souls comprise the vast majority of mankind, especially in times of decadence – as were the days of Our Lord, as are our own. In their selfishness, such men strive … Read more
It had become evident that the simple, familiar, and unceremonious ways which had marked the Franciscan movement at its beginning were gradually disappearing, and that the heroic poverty practiced by Francis and his companions at the outset became less easy as the friars with amazing rapidity increased in number. And this Francis could not help … Read more
The state of world events is so uncertain that it is impossible to know the conditions in which we will celebrate Christmas or what the New Year will bring. This is a Christmas in which Americans are filled with uncertainty, trials and insecurity. One could rightly ask: “Is it proper to have these concerns during … Read more
It is Christmas time, and the world stops for a brief moment. It does not stop long because there are too many important things to be done to waste on festive and unproductive folly. It can only be a short pause on Christmas day before the world must almost immediately return to the frenetic intemperance … Read more
Decorations, lights and fanfare typify the festive celebration of Christmas in the Philippines, even as early as September. On the streets, one can see groups of children and adults alike going from house to house singing Filipino (and even English) Christmas Carols. At each successive stop, it is not uncommon for carolers to receive gifts. … Read more
From 1793 to 1800, the region of Fougères, in Northeast France, was the scene of the epic struggle of the Chouans. The Chouans were peasants who rose up against the French Revolution in defence of the Monarchy and the Church. One winter’s night in 1795, a column of soldiers of the revolutionary Republic was making … Read more
The beautiful custom of setting up mangers to commemorate the birth of the Infant Jesus was started by St. Francis of Assisi. It was the year 1223. St. Francis went to Rome to obtain from Pope Honorius III authorisation to celebrate Christmas in a totally new way. St. Francis chose a forest in the vicinity … Read more
