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Catholic Lesson for Christmas Day:
This video on medieval bread versus modern bread can be read spiritually: Christ, born in Bethlehem (“House of Bread”), is the true Bread of Life who nourishes us in ways the world’s substitutes cannot. On Christmas, we are invited to rediscover the “superfood” of His presence in the Eucharist—pure, sustaining, and eternal—rather than the processed substitutes of modern life that leave us spiritually sick.
🌾 Key Catholic Themes Drawn from the Video
Bethlehem as “House of Bread”
The very birthplace of Christ points to bread as a symbol of His mission. Just as medieval bread was whole, sustaining, and communal, Christ comes as the whole gift of God, nourishing body and soul.Bread as Eucharistic Symbol
Medieval bread was crafted with care, natural ingredients, and communal sharing. The Eucharist is the perfected form of this: Christ Himself offered as food, unprocessed, uncorrupted, and life-giving.Contrast Between Modern and Medieval Bread
The video highlights how modern bread, stripped of nutrients, can make us sick. Spiritually, this mirrors how modern substitutes—consumerism, superficial pleasures, or distorted truths—fail to nourish. Only Christ, the “Living Bread,” sustains us.Christmas as Renewal of Nourishment
On Christmas Day, we celebrate not only the birth of Christ but also the gift of divine nourishment. Just as medieval bread was a superfood, Christ is the superfood of the soul, restoring health, wholeness, and eternal life.
✨ Practical Catholic Lesson for Christmas
- Receive Christ as Bread of Life: Attend Mass and receive the Eucharist with awareness that He is the true nourishment.
- Choose Wholeness Over Substitutes: Just as medieval bread was whole, choose spiritual practices that are authentic—prayer, Scripture, sacraments—over “processed” distractions.
- Share Bread with Others: Medieval bread was communal. Christmas calls us to hospitality—sharing meals, kindness, and Christ’s love with family, neighbors, and the poor.
- Live Bethlehem’s Meaning: Remember that Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” Let your home this Christmas become a Bethlehem, a place where Christ’s nourishment is shared.
📖 Scripture Connections
- John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger.”
- Luke 2:7: Christ laid in a manger—feeding trough—already foreshadowing His role as food for the world.
- 1 Corinthians 10:17: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body.”
In short: The video’s lesson on bread becomes a Christmas meditation: Christ is the true, whole Bread of Life, born in Bethlehem to heal our hunger and unite us in communion. On Christmas Day, we are called to receive Him, be nourished, and share Him with the world.
Dara’s Corner-
· JESSE TREE: Jesus is Light of the World: John 1:1-14 Symbols: candle, flame, sun
· Wake up to the sweet aroma of eggnog in the air. Start your day with a cozy cup of this holiday favorite. Next, dive into the magical world of books with a Christmas Book Flood. Select a festive read and immerse yourself in its pages. Feeling the pressure of last-minute shopping? Embrace it wholeheartedly on Last-Minute Shopper’s Day. Make a list, check it twice, and head out to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. As the day winds down, light some candles and set the mood for Carols by Candlelight. Sing along to your favorite holiday tunes and bask in the warm glow. Remember, it’s not about the extravagance, but the joy of celebrating these special moments. Embrace the spontaneity, savor the simplicity, and create memories that will last a lifetime.🌍 Dara’s Corner: Aboard The World
Arrival & Adoration | December 24–31, 2025
Theme: Presence, Offering & the Grace to Begin Again
Coordinates: Celebrating Christmas in Brisbane and Sydney → Ringing in the New Year in Hobart, Tasmania
🕊️ Day 1 — December 24 | Docked in Brisbane
Title: Cradle of Light
- Ritual: Pilgrims gather for a sunrise beach vigil, placing shell-shaped ornaments in the sand
- Scripture: Luke 2:7 — “She laid Him in a manger…”
- Meal: Grilled prawns with mango salsa, lime spritzers
- Reflection: “Adoration is not performance—it is presence.”
- Hospitality Arc: Be with someone—not to fix, but to witness
🪨 Day 2 — December 25 | Christmas Day in Sydney
Title: Gifts of the Tide
- Ritual: Pilgrims write a prayer on driftwood and release it into the sea
- Scripture: Matthew 2:11 — “They opened their treasures…”
- Meal: Chilled seafood platter, pavlova with passionfruit, sparkling elderflower punch
- Reflection: “The best gifts are not wrapped—they are revealed.”
- Hospitality Arc: Give something that costs you—not money, but meaning
🕯️ Day 3 — December 26 | Sailing toward Tasmania
Title: Flame of the Swimmers
- Ritual: Pilgrims swim at sunrise, each naming aloud one moment they felt seen this year
- Scripture: Luke 2:20 — “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God…”
- Meal: Barley salad with roasted vegetables, iced hibiscus tea
- Reflection: “Adoration begins with recognition.”
- Hospitality Arc: Tell someone how they’ve blessed you—be specific
🌄 Day 4 — December 27 | Offshore Tasmania
Title: Pilgrimage of the Shoreline
- Ritual: Pilgrims walk the coast barefoot, collecting one stone to symbolize a threshold crossed
- Scripture: Isaiah 43:19 — “Behold, I am doing something new…”
- Meal: Grilled fish with lemon and herbs, citrus salad
- Reflection: “Crossing is not loss—it is invitation.”
- Hospitality Arc: Ask someone what they’ve left behind—and honor it
🌬️ Day 5 — December 28 | Docked in Hobart
Title: Wind of the Magi
- Ritual: Pilgrims receive a star-shaped token and write one direction they feel called toward
- Scripture: Matthew 2:9 — “The star went ahead of them…”
- Meal: Lamb skewers with apricots, saffron rice, mint yogurt
- Reflection: “Guidance is not map—it is movement.”
- Hospitality Arc: Share aloud one hope you carry—and ask someone to bless it
🕊️ Day 6 — December 29 | Hobart
Title: Wreath of the Year
- Ritual: Pilgrims weave a wreath from coastal greenery and place one word inside it
- Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1 — “To everything there is a season…”
- Meal: Goat cheese tart with fig compote, rosemary crackers
- Reflection: “The year is not a line—it is a circle.”
- Hospitality Arc: Name one season you’ve lived—and one you’re entering
🌅 Day 7 — December 31 | New Year’s Eve at Sea
Title: Eucharist of Beginning
- Ritual: Midnight Eucharist on deck with shared bread and a reading of Revelation 21:5
- Scripture: “Behold, I make all things new.”
- Meal: Honeyed peaches, ginger tea, champagne toast
- Reflection: “Beginning is not forgetting—it is renewal.”
- Hospitality Arc: Share aloud one thing you’re releasing—and one thing you’re receiving
Let me know if you’d like a bundled version of all five weeks or a printable hospitality companion. I can also help you format this for blog or family-friendly sharing.
Introduction to Genesis[1]
Genesis is the first book
of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), the first
section of the Jewish and the Christian Scriptures. Its title in English,
“Genesis,” comes from the Greek literally, “the book of the generation (genesis)
of the heavens and earth.”
The book has two major
sections—the creation and expansion of the human race, and the story of Abraham
and his descendants. The first section deals with God and the nations, and the
second deals with God and a particular nation, Israel.
The Composition of the
Book.
The Book of Genesis was
written for a Jewish audience that had suffered the effects of the exile and
was now largely living outside of Palestine. The text highlighted themes of
vital concern to this audience:
- God
intends that every nation have posterity and land.
- The
ancestors of Israel are models for their descendants who also live-in hope
rather than in full possession of what has been promised.
- The
ancient covenant with God is eternal, remaining valid even when the human
party has been unfaithful.
Genesis 1–11.
The seven-day creation
account tells of a God whose mere word creates a beautiful universe in which
human beings are an integral and important part. The plot has been borrowed
from creation-flood stories attested in Mesopotamian literature of the second and
early first millennia. In the Mesopotamian creation-flood stories, the gods
created the human race as slaves whose task it was to manage the universe for
them—giving them food, clothing, and honor in temple ceremonies. In an
unforeseen development, however, the human race grew so numerous and noisy that
the gods could not sleep. Deeply angered, the gods decided to destroy the race
by a universal flood. One man and his family, however, secretly warned of the
flood by his patron god, built a boat and survived. Soon regretting their
impetuous decision, the gods created a revised version of humankind. The new
race was created mortal so they would never again grow numerous and bother the
gods. The authors of Genesis adapted the creation-flood story in accord with
their views of God and humanity. For example, they attributed the fault to
human sin rather than to divine miscalculation and had God reaffirm without
change the original creation. In the biblical version God is just, powerful,
and not needy.
How should modern readers
interpret the creation-flood story?
The stories are neither
history nor myth. “Myth” is an unsuitable term, for it has several different
meanings and connotes untruth in popular English. “History” is equally
misleading, for it suggests that the events actually took place. The best term
is creation-flood story. Ancient Near Eastern thinkers did not have our methods
of exploring serious questions. Instead, they used narratives for issues that
we would call philosophical and theological. They added and subtracted
narrative details and varied the plot as they sought meaning in the ancient
stories. Their stories reveal a privileged time, when divine decisions were
made that determined the future of the human race. The origin of something was
thought to explain its present meaning, e.g., how God acts with justice and
generosity, why human beings are rebellious, the nature of sexual attraction
and marriage, why there are many peoples and languages. Though the stories may
initially strike us as primitive and naive, they are in fact told with skill,
compression, and subtlety. They provide profound answers to perennial questions
about God and human beings.
Genesis 11–50.
One Jewish tradition
suggests that God, having been rebuffed in the attempt to forge a relationship
with the nations, decided to concentrate on one nation in the hope that it
would eventually bring in all the nations. The migration of Abraham’s family is
part of the general movement of the human race to take possession of their
lands. Abraham, however, must come into possession of his land in a manner
different from the nations, for he will not immediately possess it nor will he
have descendants in the manner of the nations, for he is old and his wife is
childless. Abraham and Sarah have to live with their God in trust and obedience
until at last Isaac is born to them and they manage to buy a sliver of the
land. Abraham’s humanity and faith offer a wonderful example to the exilic
generation.
The historicity of the
ancestral stories has been much discussed. Scholars have traditionally dated
them sometime in the first half of the second millennium, though a few regard
them as late (sixth or fifth century B.C.) and purely fictional. There is unfortunately
no direct extra-biblical evidence confirming (or disproving) the stories. The
ancestral stories have affinities, however, to late second-millennium stories
of childless ancestors, and their proper names fit linguistic patterns attested
in the second millennium. Given the lack of decisive evidence, it is reasonable
to accept the Bible’s own chronology that the patriarchs were the ancestors of
Israel and that they lived well before the exodus that is generally dated in
the thirteenth century.
Jacob and his twelve sons.
The stories are united by a
geographical frame: Jacob lives in Canaan until his theft of the right of the
firstborn from his brother Esau forces him to flee to Paddan-Aram (alternately
Aram-Naharaim). There his uncle Laban tricks him as he earlier tricked his
brother. But Jacob is blessed with wealth and sons. He returns to Canaan to
receive the final blessing, land, and on the way is reconciled with his brother
Esau. As the sons have reached the number of twelve, the patriarch can be given
the name Israel. The blessings given to Abraham are reaffirmed to Isaac and to
Jacob.
The last cycle of ancestor
stories is about Jacob’s son Joseph. The Joseph stories are sophisticated in
theme, deftly plotted, and show keen interest in the psychology of the
characters. Jacob’s favoring of Joseph, the son of his beloved wife Rachel, provokes
his brothers to kill him. Joseph escapes death through the intercession of
Reuben, the eldest, and of Judah, but is sold into slavery in Egypt. Judah
undergoes experiences similar to Joseph’s. Joseph, endowed by God with wisdom,
becomes second only to Pharaoh in Egypt. From that powerful position, he
encounters his unsuspecting brothers who have come to Egypt because of the
famine, and tests them to see if they have repented. Joseph learns that they
have given up their hatred because of their love for Israel, their father.
Judah, who seems to have inherited the mantle of the failed oldest brother
Reuben, expresses the brothers’ new and profound appreciation of their father
and Joseph. At the end of Genesis, the entire family of Jacob/Israel is in Egypt,
which prepares for the events in the Book of Exodus.
Copilot: Restarting a Genesis series on Christmas Eve invites us to see creation and incarnation as one seamless story of beginnings. Genesis opens with God’s word calling light out of darkness, shaping a world where humanity is meant to flourish in covenant and hope. Christmas Eve proclaims that same Word entering history as flesh, born in Bethlehem to renew creation and fulfill the ancient promises. To begin Genesis on this night is to recognize that the God who spoke the heavens into being is the same God who speaks salvation into our midst, binding the first dawn of creation to the radiant dawn of Christ’s birth.
DECEMBER 24-Wednesday-Christmas Eve
Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 8-10:
When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was AFRAID, because I was naked, so I hid.”
The Law of Influence[2]
Eve had no leadership role; no title yet she had influence. Everyone regardless of their roles is important and generates influence either positive or negative. Eve demonstrated the impact of negative influence. Although God commissioned Adam as her spiritual leader, Eve usurped the role of Adam, who followed his wife rather than God and together they led humankind into sin.
Copilot’s Take
On Christmas Eve we return to Genesis 3, where Adam hides in fear at the sound of God, naked and ashamed, and we see in that moment the deep rupture of sin—the loss of innocence, the dread of exposure, the terror of separation from the Father. Centuries later, Christ enters that same condition on the cross: naked upon the tree, crying out in abandonment, bearing the full weight of humanity’s exile. Tradition imagines His cross planted upon the skull of Adam, a vivid sign that the second Adam has undone the fall of the first. Where Eve’s influence led Adam astray, Christ’s obedience leads us home; where Adam’s fear silenced him, Christ’s cry opens the way back to the Father. On this holy night, the garden’s question—“Where are you?”—is answered in Bethlehem: God is with us, and through the Spirit we need not hide, for His presence is now our life.
Christmas Eve[3]
Read: The liturgical season of Christmas begins with the vigil Mass on Christmas Eve and concludes on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. During this season, we celebrate the birth of Christ into our world and into our hearts and reflect on the gift of salvation that is born with him . . . including the fact that he was born to die for us.
Reflect: Take time to reflect on today's readings by practicing the ancient art of Lectio Divina.
Pray: Offer up these words to the Heavenly Father for a renewed spirit of evangelization, so you might live as a missionary disciple this liturgical year.
Act: Take some extra time with this passage today and remember the true spirit of Christmas. "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus . . . and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Lk 1:31-33)
Love compels us
to “Be Not Afraid”[4]
1.
"Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy....
For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord" (Lk 2: 10-11). On
this Holy Night, the liturgy invites us to celebrate with joy the great event
of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. As we have just heard in the Gospel of
Luke, Jesus is born into a family poor by material standards, but rich in joy.
He is born in a stable, for there is no place for him in the inn (cf. Lk
2: 7); he is placed in a manger, for there is no cradle for him; he comes
into the world completely helpless, without anyone's knowledge, and yet he is
welcomed and recognized first by the shepherds, who hear from the angel the
news of his birth. The event conceals a mystery. It is revealed by the
choirs of heavenly messengers who sing of Jesus' birth and proclaim glory
"to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is
pleased" (Lk 2: 14). Through the ages their praise becomes a prayer
which rises from the hearts of the throngs who on Christmas Night continue to
welcome the Son of God.
2.
Mysterium: event and mystery. A man is born, who is the Eternal
Son of the Almighty Father, the Creator of heaven and earth: in this
extraordinary event the mystery of God is revealed. In the Word who becomes man
the miracle of the Incarnate God is made manifest. The mystery sheds light on
the event of the birth: a baby is adored by the shepherds in the lowly
stable, at Bethlehem. He is "the Savior of the world", "Christ
the Lord" (cf. Lk 2: 11). Their eyes see a newborn child, wrapped in
swaddling clothes and placed in a manger and in that "sign", thanks
to the inner light of faith, they recognize the Messiah proclaimed by the
prophets.
3.
This is Emmanuel, God-with-us, who comes to fill the earth with grace. He comes
into the world in order to transform creation. He becomes a man among men, so
that in him and through him every human being can be profoundly renewed. By his
birth he draws us all into the sphere of the divine, granting to those who in
faith open themselves to receiving his gift the possibility of sharing in his
own divine life. This is the meaning of the salvation which the shepherds hear
proclaimed that night in Bethlehem: "To you is born a Savior"
(Lk 2: 11). The coming of Christ among us is the center of history, which
thereafter takes on a new dimension. In a way, it is God himself who writes
history by entering into it. The event of the Incarnation thus broadens to
embrace the whole of human history, from creation until the Second Coming. This
is why in the liturgy all creation sings, voicing its own joy: the floods
clap their hands, all the trees of the wood sing for joy, and the many
coastlands are glad (cf. Ps 98: 8; 96: 12; 97: 1). Every
creature on the face of the earth receives the proclamation. In the astonished
silence of the universe, the words which the liturgy puts on the lips of the
Church take on a cosmic resonance: Christus natus est nobis. Venite,
adoremus!
4.
Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him...God became man in order to give
man a share in his own divinity. This is the good news of salvation; this is
the message of Christmas! The Church proclaims it tonight, by means of my words
too, for the peoples and nations of the whole earth to hear: Christus
natus est nobis Christ is born for us. Venite, adoremus! Come, let
us adore him!
Christmas
Eve-Church
or Home?[5]
Christmas
Eve at Church
The
certitude of His coming is made clear in two images. The first is that of the
closed gate of paradise. Since our first parents were cast forth from the
earthly paradise the gate has been closed and a cherubim stands guard with
flaming sword. The Redeemer alone is able to open this door and enter in. On
Christmas Eve we stand before the gate of paradise, and it is for this reason
that Psalm 23 is the theme of the vigil:
Lift
up your gates, O princes,
Open wide, eternal gates,
That the King of Glory may enter in. . . .
Christmas Eve at Home
Christmas
Eve is an appropriate time for the exchange of gifts, after the Christ-Child
has been placed in the manger, and the special prayers before the crib — and a
round of Christmas carols — are over. If the gifts are given out before the
Midnight Mass, the children can concentrate more easily on the great mystery
which is celebrated, when the Greatest Gift is given to all alike, even those
who have received no material expression of Christmas love. And then, too,
Christmas Day with its two additional Masses can be devoted more to the
contemplation of the Christmas mystery and the demands of Christmas
hospitality.
Christmas Eve Customs[6]
The Christmas Tree
Much confusion surrounds what is arguably the season's most famous symbol. Christmas trees start appearing in shops, homes, and even some churches soon after Thanksgiving. Traditionally, however, the Christmas tree was not put up until Christmas Eve and was not taken down until the Vigil of the Epiphany. (Thus, it was only around for the Twelve Days of Christmas.) The reason for this will be explained in the section on Christmas customs; for now it suffices to point out that the Christmas tree is not meant to be a part of the Advent landscape. However, because finding a tree on December 24 can be difficult, one practical measure is to buy the tree early and leave it in the home undecorated until the 24th. An undecorated evergreen brought indoors is not a Christmas tree but a "Yule" tree, a harmless, pre-Christian reminder of life to help dispel the gloom of winter. When the tree is decorated, it will then be transformed from a natural token to a Christian statement rich with supernatural symbols for the season.
Making Room for Sacred Leisure
According
to an ancient (and practical) tradition, by Christmas Eve the house is to be
thoroughly cleaned, all tasks finished or removed from sight, all borrowed
items returned, and no task allowed to be begun that cannot be finished by
nightfall.
Christmas Eve
Dinner and Celebration
Most people associate
Christmas feasting with the dinner on Christmas Day, and rightfully so, for as
a Vigil Christmas Eve was traditionally a day of abstinence and fasting. Yet
there were also delicious Christmas Eve dinners that conformed to this restraint
(see Foods). Afterwards, the family would gather around the newly decorated
Christmas tree, reciting Vespers or praying and singing hymns to the infant
Jesus now in the crib (the figurine had been conspicuously absent during
Advent). In some countries, it was at this time that gifts were exchanged.
The Christmas Candle
One of the most symbolically rich customs of Christmas Eve was the Christmas candle, a large white candle representing Christ. In Ireland, a Christmas candle was bedecked with holly and lit. It would burn through the night and be relit on each of the twelve nights of Christmas. The entire family would pray before the candle for their living and departed loved ones. In England and Ireland, the Christmas candle often consisted of three individual candles molded together in honor of the Trinity, while in Germany a highly decorated pyramid of smaller candles called a Weihnachtspyramide was used.
Lights in the Window
Another Irish custom during Christmastide was putting lights in the window. This practice originated during the times of persecution, when Mass had to be held in secret. Faithful Irish believers would place a candle in the window on Christmas Eve as a sign to any priest who happened by that this home was a safe haven in which Mass could be offered. When interrogated by the British about the meaning of this practice, the Irish replied that the lights were an invitation for Joseph and Mary to stay the night. Unthreatened by this supposed superstition, the British left them alone.
Midnight Mass-Vigil of the Nativity or Christmas Eve[7]
CHRISTIAN, for the love of Christ, and for thine own salvation, occupy thy mind, during this holy night, with holy thoughts and aspirations, in order to make thyself worthy of all the graces which Christ will grant thee on His coming. Consider how St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary, in obedience to the edict of Cesar, and in perfect submission to the will of God, went to Bethlehem, and, finding no room there, at last entered an open stable, where they were content to stay. Does not the Son of God deserve all our love when He thus humbled Himself for us?
Iceman’s Childhood Christmas
Christmas
Eve was my father’s time to celebrate and open the presents and later we would
go to midnight mass. Mom and Dad always put the presents under the tree as they
got them; wrapped of course and I think this was done to create a sense of
anticipation for Christmas. It was remarkable we didn’t break the gifts from
all the shaking we gave them to try to figure out what the gift was. Mom and
Dad never had much money, but Mom would start going to the garage sales in
October and get tons of stuff on the cheap. We never knew what Mom would find
but she never gave us anything that would take away from our dignity or
disappoint us with an awful Christmas sweater. After all Christmas is
celebrating the greatness of a God that took it upon Himself to raise the
dignity of man.
Holy Night[8]
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Savior’s birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, no witch has power to charm,
So hallow'd and gracious is the time. --Hamlet I.i
Since
ancient times, popular folklore has attached a wondrous goodness to the night before Christmas. Like
Shakespeare's Hamlet, many Catholics believed that there was not only a special
charm about this night, but a holiness. Nature awoke with unbounded joy in the
middle of the night to greet its Maker: bees hummed sweet symphonic hymns,
cattle fell on their knees in adoration, and trees and plants bowed in the
direction of Bethlehem. No wicked spirits roamed the earth on this night, no
evil forces prevailed, for on this night God had blessed the earth with His
Son. Consequently, one hour before midnight, some churches in the British Isles
would toll their bells mournfully as if for a Requiem and then peal joyfully at
the stroke of twelve. The funereal ringing was called the "Devil's funeral" to indicate Satan's demise at the birth of Christ.
Oplatek[9]
This Polish custom of the breaking and passing of the thin wafery Oplatek bread at the Christmas Eve meal reminds us of our daily bread and the Bread of Life who came into the world.
DIRECTIONS
We have adopted a custom from the Polish for Christmas Eve. At their Christmas Eve meal, after spreading hay under the cloth and (in times past) on the floor of the room, the Polish family stands together and the father breaks off a piece of the Oplatek (pronounced opwatek), the blessed Christmas wafer, and passes it on. This is a thin bread pressed in oblong irons in the convents, and on it in relief is the Nativity scene. Made like the host, it is a reminder of our daily bread and the Bread of Life who was born a man tonight. The father passes it to the next member of the family, who breaks a piece and passes it, until all the family has shared it. It is to remind them what this night is, who comes to us, why, and what it makes us, one to another. An extra place at table tells the little Christ and His Mother that they would be welcome in this "inn" should they knock at our door.
In the past the Oplatek was given us by our Polish friends. Now we use this holy symbolism with bread we bake ourselves — and mixing it is a beautiful meditation for a mother. It is baked as rolls in a round tin, round like the circle of eternity and like the everlastingness of God. After the Blessing of Bread, the father or an older member of the family sprinkles the bread with holy water, breaks off a roll and passes it to the person on his right, who breaks a roll from it for himself and passes it. It is our own custom, in terms significant to us. The father or ranking member of the family reads the Blessing of Bread.
A story was told us by a woman whose family is still in Poland. Every Christmas their family had Oplatek. When some migrated to America, those in Poland sent Oplatek to America and those in America sent Oplatek to Poland. Came the Russians with their persecution and espionage, and the family in Poland learned to conform, withdraw, carry their religion in their hearts and write between the lines of their letters.
When it was time to send the Oplatek, they determined to find a way. That year the family in America received a conventional card on which was pasted a red paper-like disk with a conventional greeting. The censor never suspected it was Oplatek, properly blessed, cut in a circle like a host, painted red for Divine Love not for Communism, and sent as a salute from one part of the Mystical Body to another half a world away. They were reminding each other that they share the same Body, eat the same Flesh.
Spiritual Crib[10]
A special devotion that can be performed during Advent to prepare for the coming of the Infant Savior. It can be adapted for adults and/or children and applied as is appropriate to your state in life.
· 14th day, December 24th: THE SWADDLING CLOTHES—Inward Recollection All your thoughts today, all your wishes, your aspirations, your love and your joy, must be for the dear Infant Jesus, who in a few hours condescends to be born in your heart.
33 days to Christmas-Start the 33 days to
Eucharistic Glory[11]
Want to start a small group? Download
our 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory Study Guide
Day
33
On
this 33rd day the reception of the Eucharist encourages ongoing reflection and
prayer, integrating the Eucharist’s grace into daily living
Copilot
The
Eucharist encourages ongoing reflection and prayer, helping believers integrate
its grace into their daily lives in the following ways:
1.
Post-Communion
Reflection: After receiving
the Eucharist, many Catholics spend time in silent reflection and thanksgiving,
deepening their awareness of Christ’s presence and the grace they have
received.
2.
Daily
Prayer: The experience of the
Eucharist inspires a commitment to daily prayer, allowing believers to
continually connect with God and reflect on their spiritual journey.
3.
Scripture
Meditation: The Eucharist
fosters a love for Scripture. Meditating on Bible passages related to the
Eucharist helps believers understand and internalize its significance.
4.
Examination
of Conscience: Regular
reception of the Eucharist involves self-examination and repentance, prompting
believers to reflect on their actions and strive for personal growth.
5.
Gratitude
and Praise: The Eucharist
nurtures a spirit of gratitude and praise, encouraging believers to recognize
and give thanks for the blessings in their lives.
6.
Spiritual
Journaling: Many find that
keeping a spiritual journal helps integrate the grace of the Eucharist into
daily life. Writing reflections and prayers can enhance personal growth and
understanding.
7.
Participation
in Adoration: Eucharistic
Adoration provides additional opportunities for prayer and reflection,
deepening the relationship with Christ and fostering ongoing spiritual renewal.
8.
Living the
Gospel: The grace received from the
Eucharist inspires believers to live out the Gospel values in their daily
interactions, making choices that reflect their faith.
9.
Acts of
Charity: The Eucharist encourages
believers to act with greater love and compassion towards others, integrating
Christ’s sacrificial love into everyday actions.
10. Community Involvement: Engaging with the church community through Mass and
other activities strengthens the sense of unity and shared purpose, reinforcing
the grace of the Eucharist.
11. Mindful Presence: The Eucharist teaches believers to be mindful of Christ’s presence in
their lives, prompting them to reflect on this presence throughout their day.
12. Strength in Trials: The grace received provides strength and resilience
in facing daily challenges, helping believers to reflect on how Christ supports
them in their struggles.
13. Encouragement to Evangelize: The transformative experience of the Eucharist
inspires believers to share their faith and the message of Christ’s love with
others.
Through
these practices, the Eucharist not only becomes a central part of worship but
also a continuous source of spiritual nourishment that permeates daily life,
guiding believers to live out their faith with purpose and devotion.
Bible in a
Year Day 176 Choosing Eternal Life
Fr. Mike explains why all of us are called to listen to the prophets of the Old
Testament, and why their role is so important in salvation history. Each of us
is building some kind of life and picture of eternity: the question we must ask
ourselves is are we building it with God or against him? Today's readings are 2
Kings 8, Hosea 8-10, and Psalm 108.
Every
Wednesday is Dedicated to St. Joseph
The
Italian culture has always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you
could make Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of
pizza or spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday
evening Mass. You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are
adventurous, you could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the
evening a family night perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make
the day special.
·
Do the St. Joseph
Universal Man Plan.
· Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite
in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting:
Today's Fast: An end to the use of contraceptives.
·
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
DECEMBER 24 Wednesday/Thursday-The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Midnight
Vigil Mass
Vigil of the Nativity or Christmas Eve[12]
CHRISTIAN, for the love of Christ, and for thine own
salvation, occupy thy mind, during this holy night, with holy thoughts and
aspirations, in order to make thyself worthy of all the graces which Christ
will grant thee on His coming. Consider how St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin
Mary, in obedience to the edict of Caesar, and in perfect submission to the
will of God, went to Bethlehem, and, finding no room there, at last entered an
open stable, where they were content to stay. Does not the Son of God deserve
all our love when He thus humbled Himself for us? Tender Him your heart as an
abode, in the following
Prayer of the Church.
O God, Who givest us joy by the annual expectation
of our redemption, grant that we may securely see Him coming as our Judge Whom
we joyfully receive as our Redeemer, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy
Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee forever. Amen.
Nativity of our Lord,
or Christmas
CHRISTMAS brings before us the happy day on which, in the
fulness of time, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, was born of the ever
blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, in the stable at Bethlehem.
Why does every priest
say three Masses on this day?
1. To give thanks to
the ever-blessed Trinity, Who cooperated in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
2. To honor the
three-fold birth of Jesus Christ: His eternal birth in the bosom of His
heavenly Father; His temporal birth of His virgin Mother; and His spiritual
birth in our hearts, which He occupies by His grace.
Why is the first Mass
celebrated at midnight?
The first Mass is
said at midnight to remind us that before Jesus Christ was born the world was
without the true light, and lay in darkness and the shadow of death. Again, it
was in the night that He was born; and both His temporal and eternal births are
mysterious truths, incomprehensible to our understanding.
Why is the second
Mass celebrated at daybreak?
The second Mass is
celebrated at daybreak because the birth of Christ brought light to the
gentiles, whose salvation was then nigh, and because, according to tradition,
it was about that hour that the shepherds came to see and adore the new-born
Savior.
Why is the third Mass
celebrated at daylight?
The third Mass is
said at daylight because Christ dispersed the darkness of ignorance, and
appeared as the Light of the world (John i. 9; Is. Ix. 8).
OF THE FIRST MASS.
The Introit of the
first Mass reminds us of the eternal birth of Jesus Christ: “The Lord hath said
to Me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee” (Ps. ii. 7); “Why have
the gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?” (Ps. ii. 1.)
Prayer.
O God, Who hast made
this holy night shine forth with the brightness of the true Light, grant, we
beseech Thee, that we may enjoy His happiness in heaven, the mystery of Whose
light we have known upon earth. Amen.
EPISTLE. Titus ii.
11-15.
Dearly Beloved: The
grace of God our Savior hath appeared to all men, instructing us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly
in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the
great God and Our Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us, that He might
redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to Himself a people acceptable,
a pursuer of good works. These things speak, and exhort, in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
How did the grace of
God appear to all men?
Through the
incarnation of His Son, Whom, in His infinite love, He made like unto us, to be
our brother and teacher, that we might become children and heirs of God, and
co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
What does Christ
teach us by His incarnation?
That we should
abandon impiety, infidelity, injustice, and worldly desires, and love God, and
our neighbor, though he be our enemy, for God’s sake. The incarnation also
shows the dignity and greatness of man, for as God gave His only Son for our
redemption, we thereby perceive the worth of man in the sight of God.
What does the Apostle
mean by worldly desires?
He means by them
carnal and sensual desires and lusts, such as impurity, drunkenness, avarice,
and such like. Christ teaches us to renounce these by the poverty, patience,
fasting, and innumerable privations of His life.
How do we live
soberly, justly, and piously?
We live soberly when
we use temporal goods according to the intention and will of God, and to supply
our necessary wants; we live justly when we desire for, and render to, our
neighbor what, by the example of Christ, we are bound to; we live piously when
we give God His due honor, love Him above all things, and love all men, in
Christ, for His sake.
GOSPEL. Luke ii.
1-14.
At that time there went out a decree from Caesar
Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first
made by Cyrinus the governor of Syria: And all went to be enrolled, everyone
into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of
Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because
he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused
wife, who was with child. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days
were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her
first-born Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling-clothes, and laid Him in a
manger: because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the
same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night-watches over their
flock. And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God
shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said
to them: Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall
be to all the people; for this day is born to you a Savior, Who is Christ the
Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find
the infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and
saying: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will.
Why did Caesar
Augustus publish a decree that all the Roman subjects should be enrolled?
The immediate reasons
of Caesar are not known
to us, but the result shows that it was done by the special providence of God,
for Joseph and Mary were thus obliged to go to Bethlehem, and so the prophecy
of Micheas, that the Messias should be born there, was fulfilled.
Why is Christ called
the first-born Son of Mary?
Because she had no
child before Him; and, moreover, having no other after Him, He is also the only
begotten of His blessed Mother, as He was the first-born and only begotten of
His heavenly Father (Heb. i. 6).
Why was the Savior of
the world born in a stable?
To show, from His
very birth, that He had not come to establish a splendid worldly kingdom, but a
kingdom of grace, justice, and peace, and to lead us to imitate His example of poverty,
humility, and contempt of the world.
Why was the birth of
Christ first announced to the poor shepherds, and not to the high priests?
To show that God does
not distribute His graces through respect for persons: He exalts the humble and
humbles those who exalt themselves. The angels for joy praised God, and sang, “Glory
to God in the highest,” that is, “Praise and thanks to our heavenly Father for
sending His only-begotten Son for the salvation of men, “and on earth peace”
that is, prosperity, happiness, salvation, and blessing “to men of good will.”
Learn from the angels to be thankful for all the benefits which God bestows
upon thy neighbor, and then you also will partake of them. In particular, thank
God to-day for the inexpressible benefit of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
[1]
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/0
[2]John
Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership Bible.
[7]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896.
[9]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=283
[11]https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/33-days-to-eucharistic-glory/33EG.html?srsltid=AfmBOopIHMivIR422BjtUtJ2KZm8-MrVMEJFtxZYH7ZkFuXRwdu5G1Qi#longDescription
[12] Goffine’s Devout
Instructions, 1896.
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