“O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.” I love this song as one of my favorite Advent songs. It is great also to meditate before the Eucharist in Adoration.

The Son of God appeared physically on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2 B.C. as a little baby. The Son of God appears physically at each and every Mass, rejoice at Mass. The Son of God will appear a second and final time for all time bringing the fulfilled promise to liberate His people.

The tide against Christmas today is coming basically in opposition to the Catholic Church. And the opposition is coming from several different directions. Secularists and Atheists are coming from one direction while a number of fundamental Protestant groups continue their attacks of Christmas.

Because of the threat of political correctness and the Secularization of our Country, various businesses have voluntarily tried...

Tonight as I was thinking on what I was going to do next regarding our pro-Christmas agenda, Fox News was reporting there was an attack on the Candy Cane because of it's Christian foundation.

Well, I am very happy to bring back this wonderful story.

Christmas is about the birth of Christ pure and simple.

Over the years traditions have developed to help bring joy to the season of Christmas bringing many sub-traditions that help us focus on the reason for the season. 

It is centered around family, faith, and love. It is about traditions that help people identify to the birth of Christ. 

As Deepertruth looks at the season of Christmas, I thought it was interesting to look at the history of the candy cane.

I remember growing up putting candy canes on the Christmas tree.  They were usually found in the stockings around the fireplace.   

Sometime around 1650 candy canes began to appear in Europe as candy makers developed hard sugar sticks originally straight white in color.  

Soo...

"And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery." Revelation 12:1-2

What pain did the Virgin Mary suffer as a result of giving birth to Jesus? Was it physical, spiritual, or both? To any mother this question might be obvious, but really it is a great question to ponder.

Genesis 3:16 God told Eve, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband..."

The Virgin Mary would not be included in this word because she was not bound of the wages of sin.  Mother Mary was conceived immaculate from sin as a singular grace.  Of the Virgin Mary, Isaiah makes this prophecy:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel. He shall be living on curds and hon...

"More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason. " "Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much.  Woe to women lacking in modesty."

"The sins of the world are very great ... If men only knew what eternity is, they would do everything in their power to change their lives."

Today it seems that everything in the world is just going insane? The United States Supreme Court under Obama and through Obama made Gay Marriage legal right in the face of Almighty God and the Host of Heaven?

It's like a huge spider web has a grip on it's prey as people are becoming more and more entranced in their ignorance of sin.  We have all but lost the concept of sin and have given acceptance to sin.  It is considered "politically incorrect" to stand on what the Church teaches.  

From “Religious Tolerance.org” they report: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated 3 that “as many as 30% of completed youth suicides each ye...

1 Maccabees 4:56-59 says, “For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered holocausts and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priest’s chambers and furnished them with doors. There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed. Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev."

St. John refers to the “Feast of Dedication” stating, “The feast of the Dedication” was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter”.

This celebration would be much like modern day Thanksgiving in the United States as the Jewish people celebrates the re-dedication of the altar and reconstruction of the temple in 164 B.C.

The Gentiles (Anti...

Every year when Christmas time comes around, people who are on the side of Scrooge come out opposing the spirit of Christmas because they want to say that it began through Pagan foundations, maybe they reject Christ, or maybe they are in some kind of cult group.  I have defended Christmas many times showing that Jesus was really, truly born on December 25, 2 B.C.

I have written on the Twelve Days of Christmas, Candy canes, Caroling, Midnight Mass, as well as other topics related to the Christmas season, but for the Scrooges of the world, they think Christmas is a gotcha moment against the Catholic Church.

Jesus sent the Catholic Church to go to all the world with what He proclaimed to them.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, what a grace it is to bear this foundation in our lives.  In accomplishing this Mission, the Church has used traditions from culture, customs, language, and the environment to reach the nations.  Sometimes roots did come from Paganism that the Church used to...

The Season of Advent and Christmas was added to the Church Calendar for specific reasons.  Primarily to help people in their faith, to keep alive the relevance and foundation for our holy Catholic Faith.

The past few days I have written on the belief that Jesus was born literally on December 25, 2 B.C.  We have shared this through the lessons of history, that the Church didn't set Christmas up to combat Paganism, the weather, the politics at the time, and the scripture.  Tonight I will give a scientific perspective to add on what we have already demonstrated.  

There are many people who regard Christmas as simply a holiday taking fore-granted the real reason for the Season. I truly believe that what Christmas is really about can change a person’s life, can change the world.

Two things to consider that is happening almost simultaneously yet independent of each other that bares much into this discussion:

1.  October 3 B.C. The Day of Atonement-Yom Kippur, the busiest Temple day of the T...

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Many also of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.  And a number of those who practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.  Act's 19:13-19

The above scripture sha...

The Church Calendar has been a work in progress since the very beginning of the Church.  From the early Christians following Our Lord's footsteps down the The Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief or Way of Suffering) to the birthday of the Lord.

As we move closer to Christmas, this year is a great reminder of the personal sacrifice I made during the Christmas Season.

Three out of the last four Christmas seasons I was deployed in Iraq. It's tough being deployed away from home for a year or more, but it becomes very difficult especially during the major holidays.
 

The Catholic Church instituted the 12 Days of Christmas in 567 through the Council of Tours.

Ever since then nations have developed their traditions and being deployed we miss the family traditions.

We do well to try and keep alive our traditions among us in a foreign land. I would use the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas" to inspire interest in the Season. For most Americans, Christmas is over after Christmas day.

We ha...

Many people will begin putting up Christmas trees soon after Thanksgiving and many of us can appreciate the imagination that it brings about year after year.

Growing up in the late 1950′s and through the 1960′s I remember at Christmas time the feelings of anticipation for Christmas.

My Mother would have a small Nativity scene set up nearby the tree which associated the tree with the Christ Child.

In those days, Christmas trees were mostly either cut down from the field, or bought in town.

It was always a lot of fun putting up Christmas trees, decorating them and watching the wrapped gifts accumulate under the tree.

The lights, the ornaments, the silver tinsels the smell of the tree takes me back when my family would provide a meaningful Christmas. Christmas time was special throughout the Country.

I remember going into town and you can see the lights on the light poles, homes had outside lights and decorations, stores and shops had Christmas advertisements.

Santa Clause would arrive to g...