The Arrow's Path

 This is a rather long but interesting article . 

This is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of Heav'n's eternal King, Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring; For so the holy sages once did sing, That he our deadly forfeit should release, And with his Father work us a perpetual peace. That glorious Form, that Light unsufferable, And that far-beaming blaze of Majesty, Wherewith he wont at Heav'n's high council-table, To sit the midst of Trinal Unity, He laid aside, and here with us to be, Forsook the courts of everlasting day, And chose with us a darksome house of mortal clay. Say Heav'nly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein Afford a present to the Infant God? Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain, To welcome him to this his new abode, Now while the heav'n, by the Sun's team untrod, Hath took no print of the approaching light, ...

Happy Christmas to everyone who reads this blog. May you be blessed and thankful on this most blessed day of the year.  -The Archer

 Every year, I like to make a list of things to listen to on Christmas Eve (and beyond). Here are some of my favorites: 1938 Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore Radio version of Dragnet " The Big Little Jesus " (which is better than the later TV version) The Great Gildersleeve Christmas Special 1953 Sgt Preston and the Challenge of the Yukon " Man in the Red Coat " Lux Radio Theater " It's a Wonderful Life " and " Miracle on 34th Street " The Shadow " Joey's Christmas Story " And for those who want something spooky on Christmas Eve: Suspense! " Out for Christmas " with Peter Lorre

 

 Dr. Malcolm Guite has an excellent reflection on the first of the Advent "O" Antiphons.

  I received a question in a Facebook group I administrate that was a very heartfelt question. It was a very personal matter, so we as the Admins thought it best to respond. To protect this person’s anonymity (the group has several 1000 members), I am going to slighty redact the question and post it with this person’s pictures of her Day by Day Scripture Calendar. My answer will be in the comments: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The question that was posted: Help. I need some guidance as I am a child of adultery. I feel like I will never be accepted by God. Bible in a Year Day 304 The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter Three and Four says This: _______________________________________________________________ My response is this: First of all, let’s put this passage into perspective in a couple of ways. The Wisdom of Solomon was written in Greek by someone who had for various reasons left the Holy Land and was living in Alexandria, Egypt. Ther...

 

I was listening to a podcast the other day on HistoryHit about Christmas at the court of Henry VIII. It was jolly interesting, as most of Dan Snow's history presentations are. Henry VIII was such a larger than life king who had a profound impact on the history of the world. His dissolution of the monasteries was truly a great crime against Christianity in England, but regardless of what one thinks of him and his policies, one cannot argue his fingerprints that are still in evidence on the world (particularly England) to this very day. While I did not quite agree with all the points this historian made, particularly about the so called pagan origins of Christmas (which I think is a bunch of ahistorical tommy rot that has virtually no primary evidence to back it up), the historian did know her stuff about what went on in the Christmas court of Henry VIII. He would spend millions of British pounds on Christmas court celebrations every year. One year in particular the historian noted ...

 The Catholic view on why IVF and why it's wrong... a very good video by Fr. Ted Pacholczyk of the Catholic National Bioethics Center. Also a good podcast where he discussed some of the issues here:

The real economic numbers magically start appearing after the election. This from the Congressional Budget Office on economic factors because of illegal immigration: "Wage growth of people in the United States who are not part of the surge—primarily U.S. citizens—decreases slightly through 2026 before increasing thereafter because of the increase in productivity." Next magic trick: I guarantee the hiring and employment numbers from the last quarter will magically be revised down at the next Fed update.

Today is the observed feast of the Immaculate Conception. It should have fallen on December 8th, which fell on a Sunday this year. A little insider baseball from someone who works in a parish office. The Vatican office in charge of things like this made a relatively recent clarification that the Church really should make every effort to follow all 4 Sundays of Advent, so Advent Sundays should trump other days of obligation like what is being observed today (which technically should have been yesterday). As I understand from the Chancery office in my diocese, the practice for the last 20+ years or so more has been that the Immaculate Conception would trump the Advent Sunday propers if it fell on a Sunday, but the Vatican ruled (just in the last few months) this has been an incorrect application of this over that. This had the priests here running the local Catholic schools in a tizzy because our Diocesan policy is Solemnities were supposedly religious holidays where schools we...

  “Capitalism, to be in order, according to the teaching of the Church, should be profoundly modified. The wealth produced is good; provided that the heart does not become too attached to it, that it can be shared among as many people as possible, and that it no longer creates the serious inequities of today. Earnings are good only if achieved through the right means, that is, without sacrificing the dignity of any human being. Competition can also be good, provided it does not degenerate into fierce fighting, with no holds barred. The Church, after the example of Christ, must love all, but must surround the poor and the more unfortunate with its preferential love.” -Pope John Paul I

 In case you need something to listen to that isn't the Grandma got ran over by a Reindeer hooey...

       As we enter the season of Advent, we embark on a journey of hope, anticipation, and spiritual renewal. Today’s Bible readings give us some reflection on what we hope to gain during this unique season of the year that celebrates the coming of Christ in unique ways.      Baruch 5:1-9 invites us to embrace the theme of transformation and restoration. The prophet Baruch speaks to the exiled people of Israel, urging them to shed their mourning garments and to don the splendor of God’s glory. “For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him” (Baruch 5:9, NRSV). In this season, we hope to experience a similar transformation in our own lives. Advent is a time for us to reflect on the areas where we may feel lost, burdened, or distant from God. We long to let go of our sorrows and embrace the joy that comes from recognizing God’s presence and promises. Our hope is to be renewed in spirit,...

For those interested in such things, the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (the Catholic Ordinariate for Australia's converting Anglicans) has launched a marvelous online edition of the Catholic Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer online. If you are like me and from the Anglican tradition of saying Morning and Evening prayer but found the modern English translations of the Daily Office to be somewhat unfulfilling, this is an excellent resource. They do follow their own unique reading cycle, particularly with the Psalms, so if you are obliged to follow the exact format of your local Diocese because of Ordination, this may not be for you. It is also only Morning and Evening Prayer and not the entire Daily Office (at least yet). Of course, it is also the Commonwealth edition, so there are prayers for the King and Royal Family. I suppose you could admit those if you chose. So, be aware of that as well.  However, if you prefer the stodgy old King's Engl...

This man is an Orthodox priest talking to those considering conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy, so take that into account, but he gives a most excellent reflection on an e-mail he received from a Protestant who was in that uncomfortable time of conversion before one has fully been received into their new faith but they have gone too far to ever be able to go home again to the faith from whence they come. He refers to that time as being in "No Man's Land."  I am not Orthodox, but as someone who works with those considering conversion to the Catholic faith, I really resonated with his discussion to those in that uncomfortable place in their faith life. You may find it of interest, so see what you make of it if you are in that position. The video is here:

One of the marvels I realized when I discovered modern board gaming a few years ago was the invention of the solo player game. I suppose the concept of a solo game has existed for a long time, but was more along the lines of playing yourself a game of chess. In board gaming parlance, this is referred to sometimes as two-handed play: where you play like two separate players, just taking turns, but it's all you at the controls for both "players." I admit I played myself chess or risk some as a younger boy, as I was an only child who lived out in the sticks where there were no other children really around. A true evolution of the board gaming industry that appears to have occurred at some point between my youth and my now middle aged self is the advent of solo games. I still find the concept somewhat novel because, again being an only child, the idea that someone (obviously an adult) intentionally creating games for the one player seems kind of far out. I love it, don't ...

 I have talked about this resource before, but for those particularly with children who want in some way to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Nicholas-the real Santa Claus-on December 6th, there is an excellent ecumenical website out there that has a ton of resources and ideas to mine. I have used the St. Nicholas Center website many times over the years for youth group ideas or newsletter ideas. It really is a great resource.

Advent was originally more like Lent, as there were fasts and things. But was also a time of preparation for Christmas. Now, when I say that, I don't mean it was originally a time to go out present shopping and hanging stockings and all that. It was really a time to remind people that Christmas was coming and get ready for it. This may come as a surprise, but Christmas was not a popular religious holiday until St Francis came up with the Nativity scene and Christmas as a liturgical feast grew in popularity exponentially after that. Go do a Google image search of pre-Medieval Christian art and see how many depictions of Christmas scenes of a baby in a manger and all that there are. Very, very few. Of the major holidays, Christmas was simply not a big thing for the first 1000 years of Christianity. The popular ones were Easter/Pentecost/Annunciation and to an extent All Saints Day or the local patronal saint's feast day. Christmas was way down the totem pole of imp...