Category: holidays

>The Annunciation

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.


The Nativity

And it came to pass, that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of David, To be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Pesentation of Jesus
in the Temple


And after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord: As it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord: And to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons:

And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him. And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, He also took him into his arms, and blessed God, and said:

Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace;

Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:

A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

And his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him. And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.

The Adoration of the Magi

Then Herod, privately calling the wise men, learned diligently of them the time of the star which appeared to them; And sending them into Bethlehem, said: Go and diligently inquire after the child, and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come to adore him. Who having heard the king, went their way; and behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country


The Flight to Egypt


And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.

Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod: That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called my son.

The Masacre of the Innocents


Then Herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry; and sending killed all the men children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying:

A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

* The paintings are by Fra Angelico (c. 1395 – February 18, 1455). The texts are from the accounts of Luke and Matthew, Douay-Rheims translation (published in 1582).

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Madonna with Sleeping Child
Andrea Mantegna, 1465-70

And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.

He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

* From the Douay-Rheims Bible

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Three Angels, from Marc Chagall’s advent series.

Advent is a time of looking to the future with hope as we look back to the birth of Emmanuel (a.k.a. Jesus). This hope was described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Christians in Rome. He says:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

In light of those words I think of one of my favorite Christmas hymns:

Oh come, Oh come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, Oh Israel.

Oh come, Oh come, Thou Lord of Might ,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.

Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, Oh Israel.

Oh come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave.

Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, Oh Israel.

Oh come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Oh come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, Oh Israel.

Oh come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.

Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, Oh Israel.

Oh come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of peace.

Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, Oh Israel.

I too long for Emmanuels’s return and to leave the sufferings of this world behind. For this reason, and others, I love this time of year.

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St Anne with the Virgin and Child, 1519
by Albrecht Dürer

Advent begins today. This is my favorite time of year. I love getting past Thanksgiving so we can start getting ready for Christmas. Our society has made Christmas all about consuming, but that doesn’t mean we have to follow suit. Nor does it mean we can’t set all that aside and focus on what the birth of Jesus means for us and the world. This is a season to commemorate Christ’s birth and anticipate his second coming.

My religious background does not include Advent, or really much at all of the Christian calendar. Now I am discovering for myself some of those rich traditions. I have no idea how to celebrate Advent in a formal way outside of visiting a church that has Advent services. I remember as a kid getting those Advent calendars with pieces of chocolate for each day of Advent, but having no idea what that was all about.The church I attend doesn’t do anything in particular that I know of for Advent, but we will have a Christmas service. I also know there are differences in the traditions – for example today marks many church’s beginning of Advent, but for others they have a different day.

So how does one celebrate Advent? What are your Advent traditions?

Here is an Advent prayer I found:

Father in heaven, our hearts desire the warmth of your love and our minds are searching for the light of your Word. Increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of his truth. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Finally, a video that is showing up on a lot of blogs today is this one from Advent Conspiracy:

Is your church participating in Advent Conspiracy?

>Halloween is a fun celebration. The kids love it of course. But we move on. Today is All Saints Day.

Painting by Fra Angelico, 15th century

Often I wish my religious background included the “religious calendar” one finds in Catholicism. Being a Protestant by birth and training, and not just a Protestant but a Baptist no less, I was frequently taught how wrong those Catholics are. Sharp lines were drawn and divisions articulated, sometimes with great emotion. Maybe those Catholics are wrong in some things, but I know too, as I have fled much of my religious roots, that those Baptists are wrong in many things as well. Now I have Catholic friends of whose faith I have no doubts. I have looked more closely at Catholic teaching and practices and I find much there that I like and wish were part of my life. My Catholic friends would say “why don’t you become Catholic then?” Not now friends. But I do think much was thrown out with the bathwater by the reformers. Some would say not enough, but I think there is a middle ground somewhere. One thing lost is a sense of history and the richness of the lives of the saints. I know that all believers are saints, but there are also those who inspire. They are like heroes. I’m not convinced that praying to the saints is Biblical, but I do think honoring them is a good thing, even if it’s merely for our own encouragement. But growing up Protestant and continuing in that tradition to some degree, I have no social context in which to do such celebrating. That is something I will continue to explore. For now I just say have a great All Saints Day and may you be encouraged.

I must say, as well, that today is my wife’s birthday. She is most definitely a saint in my book.

What is All Saints Day? Here’s the low down: