miniZibaldone

Reiterating his appeal to all believers to reject violence in the name of God, Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the families of those killed on the island of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines. The killings were perpetrated by a  breakaway Muslim rebel group who killed nine Christian civilians in a series of attack on Christmas eve. [full text]

Little Drummer Boy Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum  A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum  Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum  To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,  rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  When we come.  Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum  I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum  I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum  That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,  rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,  Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,  On my drum?  Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum  The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum  I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum  I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,  Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum  Me and my drum.

From an angelus "We often see pilgrims journeying to shrines and places dear to popular piety. These days, many of them are making their way to the Holy Door opened in all the cathedrals of the world and in many shrines. But the most beautiful thing which emerges from the word of God today is that the whole family goes on pilgrimage. Fathers, mothers and children together go to the house of the Lord, in order to sanctify the holy day with prayer. It is an important teaching, which is meant for our own families as well.. Indeed we can say that family life is made of small and great pilgrimages " [...]  "How comforting it is for us to reflect on Mary and Joseph teaching Jesus how to pray! And to know that throughout the day they would pray together, and then go each Sabbath to the synagogue to listen to readings from the Law and the Prophets, and to praise the Lord with the assembly. [link]

L:cLBg, L:aLBg, L:bLB1, H:eS2f, H:gS3b, H:fS3f, L:aLB1, L:cLB1, L:dLB1, L:fSub Milestones Memoirs 1927-1977 by Joseph Ratzinger Journey Towards Easter by Joseph Ratzinger Church, Ecumenism, and Politics by Joseph Ratzinger Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures by Joseph Ratzinger       God Is Near Us by Joseph Ratzinger   To Look on Christ by Joseph Ratzinger   Many Religions - One Covenant by Joseph Ratzinger The Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Ratzinger   The Word Made Love: The Dialogical Theology of Joseph Ratzinger by Christopher S. Collins Introduction to Christianity -by Joseph Ratzinger Truth and Tolerance by Joseph Ratzinger The Dialectics of Secularization by Joseph Ratzinger and Jurgen Habermas Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life by Joseph Ratzinger Benedict of Bavaria by Brennan Pursell...

From a message Jesus is the radiant “day” which has dawned on the horizon of humanity.  A day of mercy, in which God our Father has revealed his great tenderness to the entire world.  A day of light, which dispels the darkness of fear and anxiety.  A day of peace, which makes for encounter, dialogue and reconciliation.  A day of joy: a “great joy” for the poor, the lowly and for all the people (cf. Lk 2:10). [full text]

Saint Stephen, or On the Friendship of Christ Homily by Luigi Giussani for the Feast of St Stephen Desio, Italy, December 26, 1944 Veni Sancte Spiritus. Veni per Mariam. The sacred vestments that the ministers are wearing at the altar are no longer the immaculate white of yesterday. They are red, the symbol of blood. Next to the sweet contemplation of a God-child warmed by His Mother’s love, what a contrast is the vision of Stephen dying under the pelting hail of stones, covered with blood! With what horror our thoughts move from the angels’ song and the affectionate faces of the shepherds to the shouting figures of Stephen’s stoners, throbbing with hatred! But this juxtaposition is dense with meaning. In the dazzling light that surrounds the stable in Bethlehem, we perceive the majestic outline of the Cross. St Stephen was the first to sacrifice his life to follow the Divine Master. The feast of his martyrdom together with the feast of the Holy Birth, whose significance it c...

Adeste fideles læti triumphantes, Venite, venite in Bethlehem. Natum videte Regem angelorum: Venite adoremus (3×) Dominum. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine Gestant puellæ viscera Deum verum, genitum non factum. Venite adoremus (3×) Dominum. Cantet nunc io, chorus angelorum; Cantet nunc aula cælestium, Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo, Venite adoremus (3×) Dominum. Ergo qui natus die hodierna. Jesu, tibi sit gloria, Patris æterni Verbum caro factum. Venite adoremus (3×) Dominum. O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold him Born the King of Angels: O come, let us adore Him, (3×) Christ the Lord. God of God, light of light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb; Very God, begotten, not created: O come, let us adore Him, (3×) Christ the Lord. Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, Sing, all ye citizens of Heaven above! Glory to God, glory in ...

Julian Carron writes to the editor of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera . A New Gaze on Others Christmas for believers: acts of human kindness that move hearts. [full text]

From the homily All sadness has been banished, for the Child Jesus brings true comfort to every heart. Today, the Son of God is born, and everything changes. The Saviour of the world comes to partake of our human nature; no longer are we alone and forsaken. The Virgin offers us her Son as the beginning of a new life. The true light has come to illumine our lives so often beset by the darkness of sin. Today we once more discover who we are! Tonight we have been shown the way to reach the journey’s end. Now must we put away all fear and dread, for the light shows us the path to Bethlehem. We must not be laggards; we are not permitted to stand idle. We must set out to see our Saviour lying in a manger. This is the reason for our joy and gladness: this Child has been “born to us”; he was “given to us”, as Isaiah proclaims (cf. 9:5). [full text]

H:bS2f, H:eS3f, H:dS1b Whose Justice? Which Rationality? by Alasdair MacIntyre Memory, History, and Forgetting by Paul Ricoeur A Short History of Ethics by Alasdair MacIntyre   Paul Ricoeur and Narrative by Morny Joy  Oneself as Another by Paul Ricoeur  The Course of Recognition by Paul Ricoeur  Memory, History, and Forgetting by Paul Ricoeur

Anamnesis by Eric Voegelin Autobiographical Reflections by Eric Voegelin Modernity Without Restraints: Collected Works 5 by Eric Voegelin What is History and Other Late Unpublished Writings: Collected Works 28 by Eric Voegelin Hitler and the Germans by Eric Voegelin

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather   Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather My Antonia by Willa Cather The Professor's House by Willa Cather Jenny by Sigrid Undset   Kristin Lavransdatter I: the Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset    

L:dSuf2, L:gSub, L:eLB1, H:cSt A Mad Desire to Dance by Elie Wiesel Dawn by Elie Wiesel   One Generation After by Elie Wiesel   Night by Elie Wiesel   The Fifth Son by Elie Wiesel

From the message for World Day of Peace Indifference to our neighbour shows itself in different ways. Some people are well-informed; they listen to the radio, read the newspapers or watch television, but they do so mechanically and without engagement. They are vaguely aware of the tragedies afflicting humanity, but they have no sense of involvement or compassion. Theirs is the attitude of those who know, but keep their gaze, their thoughts and their actions focused on themselves. Sadly, it must be said that today’s information explosion does not of itself lead to an increased concern for other people’s problems, which demands openness and a sense of solidarity. Indeed, the information glut can numb people’s sensibilities and to some degree downplay the gravity of the problems. There are those who “simply content themselves with blaming the poor and the poor countries themselves for their troubles; indulging in unwarranted generalizations, they claim that the solution is an ‘educatio...

H:lB1, H:hGKC, H:aSb Satan in Goray by Isaac Bashevis Singer  Meshugah by Isaac Bashevis Singer  Gifts by Isaac Bashevis Singer Master of Dreams: Memoir of Isaac Bashevis Singer by Dvorah Telushkin Operation Shylock: A Confession by Philip Roth The Plot Against America by Philip Roth