Feast of Saint Thomas of Canterbury

"For the Name of Jesus and the protection of the Church I am ready to embrace death."

--dying words of Saint Thomas of Canterbury, also known as Saint Thomas (a) Becket.

Saint Thomas, pray for us.

Feast of the Holy Innocents

Sweet flow’rets of the martyr band,
So early plucked by cruel hand;
Like rosebuds by a tempest torn,
As breaks the light of summer morn.
First victims offered for the Lord,
Ye little knew your high reward,
As, at the very altar, gay
With palms and crowns ye seemed to play.
Ah! what availed King Herod’s wrath?
He could not stay your Savior’s path;
The Child he sought alone went free;
That Child is King eternally.
O Lord, the virgin born, to Thee
Praise, honor, might and glory be,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

--Aurelius Prudentius (348-413); translated by Henry W. Baker.

All you Holy Innocents, pray for us. 

Feast of Saint John

Deus caritas est.

(God is Love.)

--First Letter of Saint John, 4,16.
Saint John, pray for us.

Feast of Saint Stephen

"But the victim of love does not suffer as one suffers who has not given everything. The two are as different as day and night. The victim will always be Love's privileged one. If only you knew the joy with which Jesus fills everything we we have given Him everything!"

--Pere Jean de Coeur de Jesus D'Elbee

Saint Stephen, pray for us.

(Happy feast day, Stephen!)

A Christmas Carol

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)

The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
--Gilbert Keith Chesterton 


(A blessed Christmastide to you all, dear readers. I thank you for all of your lovely comments and well-wishes and, most especially, for your prayers. And I pray that Almighty God will richly bless you and your dear ones during these twelve joyful days in which we celebrate Our Blessed Savior's holy birth. May Our Lady be near you throughout this sacred season.--KS)

The sleep of sickness

The sleep of sickness is different
from the sleep of health.
It does not refresh
nor restore, but helps us
to endure the weighty pain
which illness brings.
And all that we would do,
were we not ill, is forgotten
in the drowsy spell
of deep and dream-tossed sleep.
How gladly we'd awake
to take our places in the world!
How long must we be patient?
No one can tell. Yet,
such slumber serves to show
what a gift it is to be well.
--Kindred Spirit


(My apologies for my absence, dear readers, but I have been under the influence of a particularly virulent form of influenza. Thanks be to God, it appears that I am on the mend. I send my best wishes to you all, and ask you to pray for my speedy recovery. May Almighty God bless you and Our Lady protect you.) 

God is awake

 

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
--Victor Hugo