Merry Christmas, Quick Take readers! I hope everyone is enjoying a blessed holiday and experiencing the warmth and love of Christ Jesus. Remember that Christmas doesn’t end until January 6, with the arrival of the Magi at the Feast of the Epiphany, so keep celebrating the birth of Our Lord! While you do, I highly recommend this reflection by Channing Dale over at This Catholic Life on how to imitate the Holy Family and welcome the Infant Christ into your heart, today and throughout the entire year.
I didn’t intend for it to be this way, but my Quick Takes this week are largely an account of how my Christmas went, so here goes!
My guardian angel was on duty Christmas Eve. My plan was to attend the 10 PM Solemn Mass of Christmas, and then go from there directly to work (my shift being from midnight to 8 AM). This meant that, as usual, I had to sleep during the day, but unfortunately I was stricken with really bad insomnia until about 5 PM or so. I was anxious, because the snow was coming down and I was looking at a drive on icy roads with little sleep, and then a long night at work. Fortunately, God was taking care of me.
First, not only did I manage to fall asleep finally, but I overslept by just over an hour. This could have been disastrous, but I woke up with just enough time to eat a quick meal, shower, dress in my Christmas best, pack up what I needed for work that evening, and start driving down the mountain into town. I made it to church with exactly five minutes to spare before Mass began, and though I was expecting to sit by myself (assuming I could even find an empty seat), I spied two of my best friends and was able to join them in their pew, where there was exactly one seat remaining. So not only did I get more sleep than expected, but I woke up without an alarm, got to church right on time, and found a seat next to my friends waiting for me. Deo gratias!
Christmas morning with the family was a lot of fun. I made it home from work about five minutes after they made it home from Mass, and we all enjoyed a relaxing day filled with good food, Christmas cookies, presents, and most importantly, each other. My favorite family tradition is the exchange of gifts between the four siblings and the parents that happens after the presents from “Santa” have been opened. Part of what makes it so meaningful is that we all know each other so well, and the gifts that we select for one another demonstrate how close we are as a family. Like, for instance, the biography I received from my brother.
Oh, he knows me very well. I love Bogie! Love love love! Favorite actor ever! So excited to sink my teeth into this. Thanks, C!
As evening fell on Christmas Day, we ventured out into the frosty night and went to go see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It was absolutely amazing! Peter Jackson knocked it out of the part, and Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage absolutely nailed their respective roles as Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield. I may wind up going to see it again; that’s how good it was. Billy Newton has a splendid review of this splendid film over at Blog of the Courtier. Go check it out.
I am so looking forward to Parts II and III!
It’s been at least ten years in this part of Virginia, but we finally had a White Christmas! Huzzah!
Not only did we have a white Christmas, but the amount of snow that we got was perfect. Enough over the course of two and a half days to blanket the Valley in a decent layer of snow, but not enough to cause major problems with the roads. Also, my family is really awesome. The day after Christmas, while I was napping in the afternoon, everyone else went outside and dug out my car and my brother’s car and cleared off one end of the driveway so that I could get enough sleep and not have to worry about digging myself out in the dark before heading to work for the night. I’m so blessed!
Is there any better way to blog about Christmasy things, then to do so while enjoy delicious homemade Christmas cookies?
No, no, there is not.
Finally, on a more sombre note, today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, those children of Bethlehem who were cruelly murdered on Herod’s orders, because he feared the Christ Child. In the wake of the massacre a few weeks ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School, this feast is even more poignant than usual. Yet it is not just madmen who steal the lives of the innocent. In our nation, more than 4,000 helpless children are murdered every day, because our government declares, in contradiction to biology and common sense, that they are not people. This evil is born of cruelty and selfishness, and the sheer scale and horror of it can have a soul-numbing effect.
Yet the message of Christmas tells us that this evil, and all others like it, will not have the last say. Christ the King has been born into the world, and He will put all such things under His feet. Death and evil will not have the final say, but rather mercy, kindness, and Life Everlasting.
Let us pray today for an end to abortion, to all violence and evil perpetrated against children and all those who are helpless, for the conversion and healing of all post-abortive women and men, along with all those who work in the abortion industry, through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in thanksgiving for that day we know is coming, when “God will wipe away every tear”. Amen.
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