Cow Slobber and Poopy Diapers

The last CCD class before Christmas break, back when the DH and I were teaching 9th graders, I wrote this title on the blackboard.  This, I told the ninth graders, is our topic for tonight.
“Things that stink?” one girl asked, a bit amused and perplexed.  Other students giggled.
No, it’s about Christmas, I told them.  This [...]

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O Antiphons: day 7

O Emmanuel…
Oh, come, oh, 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.
Original text: O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!
This would also be an appropriate [...]

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O Antiphons: day 5

O Oriens…
O Radiant Dawn…
Tonight, on the longest night of the year, the Church calls on Christ as the coming Dawn, Light into the world darkened by sin.  (According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, via NOAA, the winter solstice occurred at 12:47 pm today.  Under the Julian calendar at the time of its establishment (before it [...]

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O Antiphons: day 4

O Clavis David…
O come, thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Original text: O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no [...]

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O Antiphons: day 3

Yes, yes, I’m behind (I’m posting this Sunday night)…
O Radix Jesse…
O come, thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Original text:
O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall [...]

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O Antiphons: day 2

O Adonai…
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times once gave the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
Original text:
O Lord and Ruler of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave [...]

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O Antiphons: day 1

You may be familiar with the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”  It is based on prayers used during the daily prayers on the days leading up to Christmas.  Each uses a traditional reference to God, focusing on a different attribute each day.  Having meant for years to use them prayerfully in the last week [...]

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Our Lady of Guadalupe

Happy (belated) feast day, everyone!
I have an excuse for being late: my DH has been hogging the laptop, so I haven’t had a chance to download the really cool photos I want to add to this post.  Plus, I’ve been busy turning a huge pile of heavy red felt into cloaks for the kids.  BTW, [...]

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7 Quick Takes Friday: Christmas Preps

Well, it’s coming up on that time of year again!  Thanksgiving is coming over, which, for many of us, means trying to maintain a prayerful attitude through Advent while getting ready for guests, gifts, more decorating and shopping than we do the rest of the year, and an overall sense of holiday craziness.
In hopes that some of [...]

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Christmas Carols (again)

Last year, I did a series of posts on some of my favorite Christmas carols, partly because there wasn’t any politics to talk about, really, between the election and the inauguration.
If you read that series (which will be easily locatable under the “Christmas” category in the sidebar), you know I have strange tastes in Christmas [...]

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