by Max Massell | Dec 27, 2020 | Faith, Sunday Scriptures, December, Feast Days
EVERY YEAR, DEC 27 is observed as the feast of the Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen. This year, Dec 27 falls on the Sunday after the Nativity, the memorial of David, Joseph, and James, relatives of the Lord Jesus. St Stephen has an unusually large portion of the...
by Max Massell | Dec 20, 2020 | Faith, Sunday Scriptures, December, Feast Days
THE LITURGICAL PREPARATION for the feast of Christ’s Nativity intensifies today with the Sunday of the Genealogy, which commemorates those who were Christ’s physical ancestors. The Sunday of the Genealogy accelerates the countdown to the feast of Christ’s Nativity....
by Max Massell | Dec 13, 2020 | Faith, Sunday Scriptures, December, Feast Days
BEGINNING STUDENTS OF JOURNALISM or other disciplines involving research are taught the importance of the “Five Ws” in compiling information. Fact-finders must be able to answer the following questions on any subject they are investigating: Who (was involved)?...
by Max Massell | Dec 6, 2020 | Faith, Sunday Scriptures, December, Feast Days
A WORLD-WIDE SYMBOL OF GIFT-GIVING and love, St. Nicholas (270-343) is more revered by the Church as a Wonderworker, both in life and in death. The earliest written source on the life of St. Nicholas we have comes from the early to mid-ninth century, almost 500 years...
by Max Massell | Dec 29, 2019 | Faith, Sunday Scriptures, December, Feast Days
IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE devotion to Jesus, Mary and Joseph as “the holy family” became popular. It originated in New France (French territories now in Canada and the U.S.), then spread to Western Europe. It was promoted to give the newly-emerging middle class a...
by Max Massell | Dec 22, 2019 | Faith, Sunday Scriptures, December, Feast Days
RESEARCHING FAMILY HISTORY has become a favorite pastime for many Americans seeking to discover their roots. One reason for this resurgent interest is that, for many, family history was ignored for so long. Many Americans see themselves as forward-looking rather than...
