Dios e ya nacido! God is now born.

A beautiful poem written by   Rafael Jesús González.  You can read more of his poetry at his blog

-A esto


Se dice que
el fulgor de un lucero
y el cantar de ángeles
anunciaron el nacer
del dios hecho hombre,
del niño nacido
entre animales domésticos.

Sea lo que sea el cuento
de la trágica y gloriosa
trayectoria de su vida,
todo se reduce a esto:
---enseñó a amar.

----© Rafael Jesús González 2011

Guatemalan Nativity by Fr. John Giuliani

To This


It is said
that the brightness of a star
& the singing of angels
announced the birth
of the god made man,
the child born
among domestic animals.

Whatever is the story
of the tragic & glorious
trajectory of his life,
it all comes to this:
---he taught to love.



----© Rafael Jesús González 2011

The Sixth Day of Christmas

In the Incarnation, God became one with us in Jesus Christ.  God, whose love desired to be in fellowship and communion with us, offered God's self to us, and became human, so that we could partake of the divine nature and be united with God (2 Peter 1).  In return, all we can offer to God is ourselves:  all we can do is offer our heart as a mansion in which God may dwell, a vessel through which God may love.

St. Thomas Becket

O God, our strength and our salvation, who didst call thy servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of thy people and a defender of thy Church: Keep thy household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Holy Innocents

They scarcely waked before they slept,

They scarcely wept before they laughed;

They drank indeed death’s bitter draught,

But all its bitterest dregs were kept

And drained by Mothers while they wept.



From Heaven the speechless Infants speak:

Weep not (they say), our Mothers dear,

For swords nor sorrows come not here.

Now we are strong who were so weak,

And all is ours we could not seek.



We bloom among the blooming flowers,

We sing among the singing birds;

Wisdom we have who wanted words:

here morning knows not evening hours,

All’s rainbow here without the showers.



And softer than our Mother’s breast,

And closer than our Mother’s arm,

Is here the Love that keeps us warm

And broods above our happy next.

Dear Mothers, come: for Heaven is best.

Christina Rosseti

Triumph of the Innocents  William Holman Hunt

Unspotted lambs to follow the one Lamb,
Unspotted doves to wait on the one Dove;
To whom Love saith, 'Be with Me where I am,'
And lo their answer unto Love is love.

For tho' I know not any note they know,
Nor know one word of all their song above,
I know Love speaks to them, and even so
I know the answer unto Love is love.

Christina Rosseti

Holy Innocents, pray for us.

We remember before God this day all victims of violence, and all bereaved parents who have lost a child.

St John the Evangelist

Today we remember St John the Evangelist, the beloved apostle, and the only apostle not to die a martyr.  It is St. John who wrote the beautiful words concerning the Incarnation that are often read during Christmastide...

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth

One of the symbols for St John is a chalice, often with a snake crawling out of it.  According to tradition, St. John was offered a chalice of poisoned wine, but after he blessed the cup, the poison appeared in the form of a snake.  Thus, it has become customary to bless wine on St.John's day, and to drink to the love of God.

St. Stephen, proto-martyr

Today we remember St. Stephen, deacon, servant of the poor, and the first martyr.  He is an example of forgiveness, charity, and love of all, including one's enemies.

Christ is Born!

A blessed feast of our Lord's Nativity to you all!

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ,
Who for our sakes hast appeared on the earth as a man?
Every creature which Thou hast made offers Thee thanks.
The angels offer Thee a song;
The heavens, their star;
The wise men, their gifts;
The shepherds, their wonder;
The earth, its cave;
The wilderness; the manger;
And we offer Thee a virgin mother.
O Pre-eternal God, have mercy on us!