As I grew up in the Church, my family celebrated Advent in the weeks leading up to Christmas day. We didn’t catapult from Thanksgiving right into Christmas, but anticipated Christmas, which deepened our understanding of its true meaning by nourishing our lives by faith in Christ—and that made all the difference.
Christ
The Devil Is A Prowling Lion
One cannot be biblically literate without also being introduced to the diabolical influences of Satan. However, people today often disbelieve in Satan and his cohorts, the other fallen angels who went agreeably along with his choice to forever reject God.
The Feast of St. Andrew, Hope, and The Approach of Advent
The Feast of St. Andrew can help you to embrace the gift of hope and set your eyes on heavenly things above. Leave the old behind, as did he, cultivate your heart, and embrace Christ who calls, heals, restores, and confers on men the gift of eternal life.
The Last Will Be First, The First Will Be Last
The parable of the workers in the vineyard speaks of Christ, who is the landowner offering eternal life to those who work in his vineyard, bringing first themselves under his rule, then their families, neighborhoods, and societies for the purpose of building up the kingdom of Christ. All who enter this vineyard at the landowner’s invitation and labor therein will receive the generous and unfathomable gift of everlasting life.
Christology and Christmas
Today, Christians often take the meaning of Christmas for granted. Unfortunately, the wonder and magnificence of the Incarnation and the subsequent birth of the humble little Christ Child, including study and reflection on these singularly unique and pivotal events in human history, are often displaced by other concerns. Often unrecognized or forgotten is the struggle, the bloodshed, and the extreme labor of the Church over the centuries to guard and transmit the truth of Jesus of Nazareth in its full purity to the entire world.