No, not “winter wonders.” This will not be a rhapsody about the splendor of the white-mantled hills, the frosty sparkle of snow-covered dogs, or the power of frozen car batteries to awaken us to the glory of Nature. I have another subject in mind. At this time of year, especially in the run-up …
Category: Christmas
Dec 25 2024
About 2024 Years Ago
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up …
Dec 22 2024
The Courage Of The Women
Welcome to the Fourth Sunday in Advent, the last such before we celebrate the Nativity of Christ (a.k.a. Christmas). On this day, the Gospel reading concerns not one but two surprise pregnancies, and the coming-together of the women who bore them: And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country …
Dec 15 2024
Rejoicing
I am frequently discouraged by the incompetence of priests and other clerics. You’d think such persons would receive some training in occupationally critical matters: how to give a sermon, for example. Apparently there are no such courses in seminaries. I shan’t name names, but on this Gaudete Sunday, a good sermon would have …
Dec 14 2024
Numbering The Days
Eleven days to go until we commemorate the birth of the Son of God in human flesh. Eleven days more before we break out in choruses of “Adeste Fideles” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and start ripping the gaily covered paper off the packages under the tree. Eleven more days to imagine what …
Nov 30 2024
The Year’s End
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, is of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” — C. S. Lewis. You don’t have to be a Catholic to appreciate the season of Advent. For the next four weeks, Christians everywhere will prepare for the holy day that commemorates …
Nov 20 2024
A Morning For Epiphany
“Discovery of my task is my task. It is like that with us higher life forms.” – Robert Sheckley, “Tripout” Epiphanies can’t be scheduled. They choose their own moments. (And I think that will go into the LIS Codex once I’ve finished this piece.) Say, did you know that blogs – “weblogs,” …
Dec 25 2023
December 25, 2023
Ponder this: When God came to Earth, there was no room in the inn, but there was room in the stable. What lesson is hidden behind the inn and the stable? What is an inn, but the gathering-place of public opinion, the focal point of the world’s moods, the residence of the …
Dec 24 2023
They Who Have Not Joy
There are…people whose entire mission in life is to despoil the lives of others. Any Gentle Reader of Liberty’s Torch will be able to name a few categories thereof. But just now, we’re seeing one of the most odious of all in inglorious death-dealing Technicolor®: the rabid anti-Semites who cheer whenever a “Palestinian” murders …
Jan 08 2023
An Epiphany Story
I’m fairly sure all my Gentle Readers know the story of the Magi and their gifts to the Christ Child. Today – the first Sunday after New Year’s Day – is the day when Catholics celebrate the Epiphany, which includes that momentous visit to the Holy Family from three of the most learned men …
Dec 22 2022
Fanfares
There’s an old gag about the importance of avoiding anachronisms in fiction: The error of anachronism was once enshrined by an amateur playwright. He had a French obstetrician leave home in the early hours of numbingly cold dawn to attend a delivery. When he returned home exhausted, his sympathetic wife gave him hot …
Dec 16 2022
Things You Can Rely On Part 2
Just as “environmentalists” (who should really be called “anti-humanists”) are reliable in their opposition to anything that supports and enriches human life, vocal “diversity” activists are absolutely reliable about certain things. Most prominent among those things is their hatred for any manifestation of Christianity or practices associated with it: This happened in Dedham, …
Dec 11 2022
TITS Up!
Here we are: Gaudete Sunday, when Advent transforms from a season of spiritual preparation to an anticipation of joy. We’ve been here before, we Christians. We know the Savior is coming. We know that He will be born of a virgin in a rude stable, placed in repose in a manger surrounded by animals; …
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