Dreaming of Christmas

A blessed and merry Christmas to all!

One of the most beloved songs of all time is Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" written for the classic move "Holiday Inn" starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.

It is said that when Bing Crosby, a devout Catholic, was presented with the song, he argued and refused to sing it because there was no mention of Jesus Christ, The Reason for the Season.  He was so adamant in his refusal that production of the movie was held up for days.   

Something changed....and as we all know, he went on to sing this classic song which went on to be one of if not the most popular song in American musical history.  It is likely the most recognizable Christmas song amidst the vast landscape of musical offerings.

Upon hearing this story, this writer got to thinking about how and why Mr. Crosby changed his mind.....and how it may have impacted his life.  After all, he was a devout Catholic and was following his conscience....and then something else.  

Ecclesia internum non judicat

In charity, the following was composed in reparation and to help put Christ in Christmas.

May Christ rule in our hearts. 

+JMJ+

Laura Yunque

Christmas Wood - A Musical Meditation

 

By Thy Crib and Thy Cross

 

O Little One
So small and fair
King though you are
No royal fanfare
Or regal trappings
Lying in a manger bare

I see Thee there
Poor and lone
Save the ass and ox
Aside Your throne
Of hay and cold
Yet such Light does shone

Ah, here lies a gift
Sublime and yet keen
All power and majesty
Lie in place so mean
Contained and swaddled
Unnoticed and unseen

No words do Thou speak
Silence is gold
For to the heart
Is Thou story told
The Word Made Flesh
The Love of God unfolds

The Glory of God
At rest in the cave
At one with man
So as to save
Those who had forsook
All that which He gave

I come before You
Oh Infant meek and mild
No fear and trembling
Before you, Almighty Child
For You came for me
Through Thy Mother undefiled

To save me, O Jesus
From the snare of sin
From the sadness of error
From the darkness and din
Of life without You
O Light, shine within

My lowly heart
I give to you, Sweet One
Make it beat sweetly
In rhythm with Thine Own
A song of peace and joy
For You, O Holy Son

Of Holy Mary
God and Man at One
Love shall reign
All sin and desolation gone
All through the Birth
Of He Who came
From Heaven Above

Soon to take His Cross
For the manger foretells
The Sorrow He shall bare
In full time,  it does  befell
The prick of the hay
Shadows the piercing of the nails

The Cross to carry
Is not a thing afar
In a distant time
The Sacred Flesh to mar
With You at Your Birth
Announced  Bethlehem’s Star

The Crib and the Cross
Made of the wood of the Tree
Fashioned by the hands of man
Guided by the Love of Thee
Nails to fasten, both cedar and flesh
Salvation is won triumphantly
Through Thou Love given
Do This in Memory of Me 

O Infant King
Sit upon Thy throne
In Crib, on Cross
O in Heaven above
Forevermore reign in my heart
Give to me Thy Love
Never again to sin
Never to leave Thee alone

To the Crib, to the Cross
To You do I cry
To you do I come
Hurriedly do I fly
To Bethlehem, to Calvary
Your Love do I seek
May it ever be so nigh

Oh my Jesus
Babe, God and man
I give you my heart
I place it Your Hand
In Your manger, I lay it down
On the Cross, as one can
I nail it with Thine.

To be Yours
In all things and ways
In all of my tomorrows
In days of yester and todays
I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Oh let me never stray. 
By Thy Crib and Thy Cross
Let me always stay.   

Christ in A Christmas Carol

We would like to have written this ourselves, but another has been so inspired and has done well.

So, on this 7th Day of Christmas, we present you with this from the Magis Center.

A blessed Christmas Season to you. 

Christian Themes in Dickens' A Christmas Carol

It's Not About Marriage

 

Again and again it is mentioned that blessings of sodomites does not affect the Church’s teaching on marriage.  What is ignored that it changes the teaching on Sin, and not limited to sins against the sixth commandment.

The absolute foundation of God's revelation is that:

(1) Creation was good at its inception. 

(2) Creation, including man’s nature and urges were corrupted by the fall.

(3) Man (and creation) is healed by denying man’s will and taking on God’s will as your own. 

Yes, we suffer from a rebellious urge to break the Commandments.  For some it is the commandment against sexual sin, for others it is the commandment against theft. For all it is the commandment to put God first.  

 

Nobody breaks all the commandments. Most people have one or two favorite sins. In that sense there is some good in the thief, adulterer, murderer, etc.  That is the whole point. Redemption is the denial, specifically, of the urges against God, not in taking comfort that you haven’t broken all the commandments.  The Church is about healing your wound, not about celebrating that one leg or arm was not injured in the blast.  The Church does not require perfection. It requires sincere repentance and determination to “deny oneself and take up your cross.”  God’s grace will make up whatever our feeble wills are unable to accomplish.  

 

The blessing of any unrepentant sinner, however informally, removes the principal means of salvation and itself is a grave sin.

 

The Christmas Wood

 

It is night and my eyes are open wide 

Though the light be dim, they see as clear as day

My mind travels far though time

In thoughts of tomorrow and yesterday

I go back to a time of old

To a night so dark and deep 

To the Infant Child who was foretold

The Promise of the Father to keep.

The babe of the manger, the man on the Cross

Born of the wood to save man lost

Man of Israel, God of Earth

Heaven and earth joined by his Birth

Little Babe, answer to man’s imploring

So many hungry, empty hearts to fill

Shepherds, angels and kings adoring  

Love Will reign, Sin be gone, Emmanuel.

The Babe, the gift of life bestowed

As infant, wrapped in clothes so gently

He came to reap what man had sowed

As man, we nailed you to the tree

The babe of the manger, the man on the Cross

Born of the wood to save man lost

Man of Israel, God of Earth

Heaven and earth joined by his Birth

The time is then, the time is now

God of love, Man of sorrowing

At whose name every knee shall bow

Jesus Christ, Savior and King.

You know my tears, you see my need

Man of Israel, God of Earth

Baby Jesus, upon my knee

I ask you for new birth

On this Christmas morn, heed my heart’s call

I pray that you will answer my plea

Today as yesterday, no time at all

Raise us all to heaven’s glory.

The babe of the manger, the man on the Cross

Born of the wood to save man lost

Man of Israel, God of Earth

Heaven and earth joined by his Birth

Laura Yunque

Words from the pit

Satan is a liar, but he is no fool.  His lies always have to be believable.  He lies by using words in a way that they can be misunderstood.  When you use vague words, words with multiple meanings, you leave your listener open to the lies of Satan.  

One such confusion of meaning arises from the use of "tradition".  Of course, traditions change. The tradition of Monday being wash-day was carried for centuries, until the advent of the Washing Machine, making washing far less than a day's worth of work.  This vague, general term "tradition" can mean all types of traditions.  So, when we hear prelates speaking about tradition "changing", "developing", and "reflecting the modern world", our minds automatically give assent. We have been snared in the confusion which Satan seeks.  

But we are not carrying on the habits, customs or traditions 19th Century America or of any particular region or culture.  Those can certainly change.  We aren't even carrying on the traditions of Catholic people.  We are called to carry on the "Apostolic Tradition".  The Apostolic Tradition consists of the customs, principles and practices used by the 11 Apostles and St. Paul to live the instructions they were given by Christ.  The Apostolic Tradition was closed when the last Apostle died.  There can be no more development of or change to Apostolic Tradition. 

Substitute "Apostolic Tradition" in any of the pronouncements we have head recently and clarity will ensue.  Cardinal Wilton Gregory (may God have mercy on his soul) said recently, "Tradition dies slowly and a bloody death."  Needless to say, that was not the case with Monday as Wash-day.  That tradition changed fairly rapidly and involved perhaps a bit of sweat to earn enough to pay for the applicance but no blood.  Did he mean to say, "Apostolic Tradition dies slowly and bloody death?"  If so, he has missed the mark in two ways.  There are many who have indeed shed their blood rather than surrender the Apostolic Tradition and it is Apostolic Tradition which will outlast Cardinal Gregory and withstand even the gates of Hell.  

It is useful to apply that same practice to other vague words:

• "Faith.": There are many "faith traditions" but only one "Apostolic Faith" which stands above all others.    

• "Church": There are many churches.  There are Protestant churches. There is a Conciliar church, a church of the new Advent and even an emerging Synodal church, but there is only one "Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" which includes none of these. 

• "Magisterium": "Magister" simply means "teacher" in Latin and "Magisterium" is the collection of things taught.  The magisterium of history adds something new with each passing year and archeology can even change what is taught about the past.  The Apostolic Magisterium, by contrast, is the collection of things which the Apostles taught.  That is what the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is responsible for preserving and passing on.  Any personal teaching of this pope or that may be amusing or annoying but if not Apostolic, it is of no importance.  

Each of us must listen carefully for those broad and ambiguous words.  It is the exactness in which truth lies.  That exactness can upend the conclusions based on broad and ambiguous words.  Never trust anyone who uses broad and ambiguous words.  If they lack the wit to speak clearly, you would be witless to listen to them.  If they chose to be vague and ambiguous, they are playing you for a fool.