Holidays and Holy Days
Here you will find musings related to Advent and Lent, Christmas and Easter along with reflections prompted by holidays like Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, and the onset of summer. It’s also a place for thoughts on Holy Days and related topics like the communion of Saints and the Sacraments. Posts are pictured with the most recent first. Look for season-related series or start with one of these popular reflections:
- 5 Thanksgiving Psalms to Pray This Week
- 40 Days in the Word: 3 Ways to Add Scripture to Your Lenten “Diet”
- Praying with the Penitential Psalms
- Find Peace This Advent
- The Jesse Tree: An Advent Tradition for the Whole Family
"And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.... And the angel said to them, 'Be not afraid...; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped ...
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Two months ago, I stood at the foot of the Cross - literally, at the spot where Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. Golgotha lies within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and it is crowned by an altar and chapels dedicated to the final Stations of the Cross. You can reach below the altar and touch the rock on which ...
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I have always loved "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" but never knew until recently that it is based on the seven "O Antiphons" that have been sung for many centuries before and after the Magnificat at Vespers for seven days leading up to Christmas (Dec 17-23). Each of the brief antiphons starts with "O" and a name of Christ - ...
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Today is Rose or Gaudete Sunday; "Gaudete" from the the Introit sung at mass: "Gaudete in Domino, semper gaudete" - "Rejoice in The Lord always, again I say, rejoice." Everything in the liturgy today speaks of JOY. In honor of this day of rejoicing, some verses from the Bible on joy, as food for meditation: "Do not be grieved, for ...
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If the word for Advent last week was Awake, then this week it's Prepare. John cries out in the desert: Repent; make straight in the desert a highway for the Lord! I never understood this until I went to Israel. Before that, I always thought the desert was a flat and sandy, barren place, stretching out forever, no relief in ...
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The snow crunches as I walk and everything is quiet. Bare trees stretch toward the sky and gather morning sunshine in their branches. Advent is upon us and I didn't see it coming. Like the trees, I need to reach to heaven. He is coming! How can I prepare? Lucky for me, the Church anticipates my not-readiness. The morning prayer ...
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Thinking of Halloween and the Feast of All Saints today, and the contrast between Halloween costumes, which are meant to attract attention to themselves, and the stained glass pictures of saints—which allow us to see light in all its multi-colored glory. A saint is one through whom the light of God is made visible to our eyes. We are all ...
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