December 31
“Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ from heaven, go out to meet Him! Christ on earth, be exalted! Sing to the Lord all the whole earth; and that I may join both in one word, let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, for Him who is of heaven and then of earth. Christ in the flesh, rejoice with trembling and with joy; with trembling because of your sins, with joy because of your hope.”
-St. Gregory Nazianzen
Just two days before Christmas, the Department of Health and Human Services quietly issued a notice stating their intent to withdraw rule changes to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraception mandate that the Little Sisters of the Poor have been fighting for years.
December 30
“O Father, in your Truth… you have humbled me. He was humbled in the womb of the Virgin, needy in the manger of the sheep, and homeless on the wood of the Cross. Nothing so humbles the proud sinner as the humility of Jesus Christ’s humanity.”
-St. Anthony of Padua
December 29
“Open wide your door to the one who comes. Open your soul, throw open the depths of your heart to see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the sweetness of grace. Open your heart and run to meet the Sun of eternal light that illuminates all men.”
-St. Ambrose of Milan
December 28
“A God who became so small could only be mercy and love.”
-St. Thérèse of Lisieux
December 27
“Although he was the Son of God, Jesus Christ wished for the sake of our redemption to become one of us. He shared our human condition, making himself part of the world of his time, speaking the language of his country, and drawing on local life for the examples with which to illustrate his teachings of justice, truth, hope, and love. Today, his teaching spreads throughout the world.”
–St. Paul VI
This is Part II of a two-part series documenting the experience of Priscilla de George, a devout Catholic woman who thought she would be safe if she prayed to Jesus and Mary while attending yoga classes, and whose life began falling apart shortly after she started the practice.
December 26
“Celebrate the feast of Christmas every day; even every moment in the interior temple of your spirit, remaining like a baby in the bosom of the heavenly Father, where you will be reborn each moment in the Divine Word.”
—St. Paul of the Cross
December 25
“Dearly beloved, today our Saviour is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all.”
-St. Leo the Great
The “yoga wars” are hotter than ever, with both sides staking out their positions and hammering their tent pegs ever deeper into the ground, but for everyday people like 54 year-old Priscilla de George (not her real name), this isn’t a matter of taking sides – it’s a matter of life and death.
