Tag: Christmas

December 2015 in Review

Posted December 30, 2015 in Faith, Life, Reading / 4 Comments

It has been a crazy month and so I don’t have a whole lot for you other than the books I read and reviewed this month. My 2015 in Review post will be coming up tomorrow and this is a lot more interesting than this one. This post is, I know, rather pathetic but here it is anyway.

Things that Happened in December

  • Christmas!
  • I am (still) kitty-sitting for my sister’s two kitties while she and the rest of my family are visiting family in another state.
  • Somehow I managed to read only 5-star books this month; I’m not sure how that happened.

Books I Read in December

These Vicious MasksCity of SaintsLord of the WorldOne Ordinary Sunday
Crown of MidnightThe Sword of SummerIce Like Fire
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Merry Christmas! & {F56}

Posted December 25, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 4 Comments

Merry Christmas!

Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives
I just reviewed this book yesterday and yet I couldn’t resist using it for today’s Friday 56. Today is Christmas and so this is more relevant than it could ever be. However, I may slightly break the rules of the Friday 56 and include more than one quote from a page that is not “56.” 🙂

From Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI:

It is Mary’s obedience that opens the door to God. God’s word, his Spirit, creates the child in her. He does so through the door of her obedience. In this way, Jesus is the new Adam, the new beginning ab integro – from the Virgin, who places herself entirely at the disposal of God’s will.
~page 56~

Mary wrapped the child in swaddling cloths. Without yielding to sentimentality, we many image with what great love Mary approached her hour and prepared for the birth of her child. … The manger is the place where animals fidn their food. But now, lying in the manger, is he who called himself the true bread come down from heaven, the true nourishment that we need in order to be fully ourselves. 
~page 68~

As a sign, the angel had told the shepherds that they would find a child wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. This is an identifying sign – a description of what they would see. It is not a “sign” in the sense that God’s glory would be rendered visible, so that one might say unequivocally: this is the true Lord of the world. Far from it. In this sense, the sign is also a non-sign.
God’s poverty is his real sign.

~page 79~

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{Review} Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives – The Story of Christmas

Posted December 24, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

{Review} Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives – The Story of ChristmasJesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI
Series: Jesus of Nazareth
Publisher: Image (2012)
Hardcover (127 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2015 Alphabet Soup, 2015 What's In A Name?, Read 2015

Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller! The momentous third and final volume in the Pope’s international bestselling Jesus of Nazareth series, detailing how the stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago.
In 2007, Joseph Ratzinger published his first book as Pope Benedict XVI in order “to make known the figure and message of Jesus.” Now, the Pope focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life as a child. The root of these stories is the experience of hope found in the birth of Jesus and the affirmations of surrender and service embodied in his parents, Joseph and Mary. This is a story of longing and seeking, as demonstrated by the Magi searching for the redemption offered by the birth of a new king. It is a story of sacrifice and trusting completely in the wisdom of God as seen in the faith of Simeon, the just and devout man of Jerusalem, when he is in the presence of the Christ child. Ultimately, Jesus’ life and message is a story for today, one that speaks to the restlessness of the human heart searching for the sole truth which alone leads to profound joy.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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Epiphany: God Revealing Himself

Posted January 4, 2015 in Faith / 0 Comments

epiphany-ornament

The word epiphany means manifestation, revelation, new insight. On the Solemnity of Epiphany we celebrate the revealing of Christ to the Magi. Epiphany is on the sixth of January, twelve days after Christmas. However, in most dioceses, Epiphany is transferred to the Second Sunday after Christmas (the First Sunday being the Solemnity of the Holy Family). In the East, Epiphany is known as Theophany, a word from Greek for God revealing Himself to humanity. At least these are the notes I have on Epiphany from one of my college theology classes.

The Solemnity of Epiphany celebrates one specific epiphany, one specific revelation of God Himself to the Magi from the East. Epiphany was when Jesus Christ was first revealed to Gentiles, non-Jews. Epiphany is when we remember that Jesus Christ came to save everyone in the world. He came for us so that we might be freed from slavery to sin.

I wish you a wonderful Epiphany!

 

amanda

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Sancta Maria, Mater Dei

Posted January 1, 2015 in Faith / 0 Comments

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you

The greeting of the Archangel Gabriel calls Mary “full of grace.” Mary has been gifted with more grace than any of us could hope for. She is “full of grace,” without the stain of original sin. Mary was filled with grace so she could be the most pure Mother of the Son of God.

fra angelico annunciation

 

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