Hear Me Roar!: I truly hope that the joy of the Christmas season has begun to creep into your hearts through the Advent anticipation of the coming of the Christ child! As plans are finalized, families gather, snow falls, presents gather under the tree, and voices raise up to heaven; may you find yourself surrounded by blessings.
Enjoy this week's Christmas theme Highlights and blog posts and stay tuned for my upcoming reflection on Time Magazine's Person of the Year.
Reflection of the Week: Beware the Krampus
Forever engraved in my mind when reflecting upon the Advent Season will be the much feared Krampus. What is a Krampus you ask? All of us American students were wondering the same thing and our reactions were surely the highlight for the Austrians at that year's AdventFest. Continue
A Christmas Prankster: Home for the Holidays
An elderly man in Oklahoma calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day son, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are getting a divorce; 45 years of marriage... and that much misery is enough!" "Dad, what are you talking about?" the son yells. "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old dad explained. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Hong Kong and tell her!". Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this." She calls her elderly father immediately, and screams at him, "You are not getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, you hear me?" she yelled as she hung up the phone. The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay", he says, "it's all set. They're both coming for Christmas and paying their own air-fare."
I wanted to feature a painting by Nicolas Poussin from 1650 called The Nativity this week. Poussin's classical French Baroque style captures the beautiful emotion of Mary and Joseph as they gaze upon the Christ child, overwhelmed and overjoyed. Poussin worked hard to achieve clarity of expression in his paintings and put a lot of emphasis on the design (disegno) of the composition.
Take out the holy, garland, and mistletoe. String up the lights, ribbons, and bows! Decorating for the Holidays can become costly and overwhelming, adding to unnecessary stress in a time when joy should be especially present in your home. There are many fun and creative ways of making the house festive without crystal and hand blown glass. Sometimes simplicity adds great focus to the meaning of the celebration and centers the household on the family within. Continue
Okay so no CNN for me this week! I steered clear of the emotional and opted toward good reading and funny shows. With that said, laughter was in no shortage as I watched a show about the most ridiculous 911 calls recorded. The show featured a woman who called in to report a drunk driver who happened to be herself, a man who thought he was trapped in a hot tub that he had broken into, and a man who hit a deer and stowed it in his back seat only to find it was still alive when it began biting him on the neck as he was driving!
When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?
- Gilbert K. Chesterton
- Gilbert K. Chesterton
Peace and Blessings be upon your families as you gather to celebrate the birth of Our Lord.
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