Quote of the Day
"We must always remember that God does everything well, although we may not see the reason of what He does."
St. Philip Neri
Today's Meditation
“We could surely say that the Eucharist bears a special relationship to wisdom because wisdom is the highest gift that flows from the virtue of charity. In the Eucharist we also set our minds on the highest thing, Christ Himself, Wisdom Incarnate, and are joined with Him in the most intimate of ways. Indeed, after receiving Communion in the Traditional Latin Mass, the priest prays that the body and blood of our Lord that he has received will “adhaerat visceribus meis,” “cleave to my innermost parts.”
—Kevin Vost, PSY.D., p.112-113
Daily Verse
"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
Psalm 139:23-24
Holy Innocents
Saint of the Day
The Holy Innocents (1st c.) are the children mentioned in the account of Jesus' birth in Matthew's Gospel (2:16-18). When the Magi came to Jerusalem to find and adore the Baby Jesus, the newborn King of the Jews, King Herod requested that they inform him of the Child's location under the pretense of offering Him adoration, too. After paying the Child homage and offering Him their gifts, the Wise Men were warned in a dream not to betray Jesus' location, and departed for their home country by another route. Meanwhile the Holy Family was warned by an Angel to flee into Egypt. King Herod fell into a jealous rage over the Magi's failure to report back to him. He ordered all the baby boys aged two years and under to be killed, according to the appearance of the Bethlehem Star to the Three Wise Men, in an attempt to kill the Baby Jesus. These baby boys died not only for Christ, but in his stead. The Church venerates them as martyrs. It it is uncertain how many children were killed, whether a small number, or in the thousands. The Latin Church instituted the feast of the Holy Innocents in the fifth century. The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome is believed to possess the bodies of several of the Holy Innocents. Their feast day is commemorated on December 28th.
The Holy Family
Feast Day
Jesus and his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his earthly guardian, protector, and foster-father, St. Joseph, make up the Holy Family. God was made incarnate into the embrace of the human family, and the majority of Jesus’ earthly life was spent in the quiet happiness of domestic life with his mother and father. This sacred time, known as the “hidden life” of Jesus, is one of which we know little from Sacred Scripture. The feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on the Sunday within the octave of Christmas. If Christmas falls on a Sunday, the feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on December 30th.