Happy and Peaceful New Year to all my friends on Livejournal.

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We hear these days of Christmas that Jesus, Mary and Joseph became refugees in Egypt because Herod was anxious about them disturbing his rule. Are there modern echoes ( Read more... )

At this Christmas time I suppose I should be reflecting on what Christmas means. The traditional understanding of the Incarnation is that the Person of Christ subsists in two natures, a divine nature and a human nature. But Christ is only one Person ( Read more... )

Yesterday was the feast day of the first Christian martyr, St Stephen. The last century has seen more Christians killed in the name of their faith than any of the 19 that went before it. Some Governments care a bit about this. Ours barely pays lip service.

I wonder would my own weak faith be able to rise to the challenge?

One of Ireland’s unique and darker traditions, celebrated on December 26th, relates to killing a small bird in revenge for betraying St Stephen the first Christian martyr.
The wren is considered the ‘King of the Birds’ and is also associated with the old year. It was said that capturing the bird alive would herald in a new and prosperous year. As ( Read more... )

Song of Songs 2:8-14

Listen! My beloved! Look!
Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
My beloved spoke and said to me ( Read more... )

This year's Nativity Scene in St. Peter's Square comes from Scurelle in the province of Trento, in Northern Italy, while the 26 metre high spruce tree comes from Rotzo in the province of Vicenza ( Read more... )

Karl Rahner wrote in 1964: “A ‘now’ of eternity is in you. And this ‘now’ has already begun to gather your earthly moments into itself."

Why do people fear death?
Is it because they do not know what the future has to offer?
Or is it because they are too attached to the present?