#56 Unleashing the Christmas Spirit

Christmas is a perfect time to "unleash" the joy of Christianity and to share it with others who can't help but be affected by it. We can share this joy with our children and others even through the simplest traditions of Christmas.

Cardinal Ratzinger said:

Even a custom like Christmas baking ... has its roots in the Church's Advent liturgy, which makes its own the glorious words of the Old Testament... 'In that day, the mountains will drip with sweetness, and the rivers will flow with milk and honey.' People of old found in such words the embodiment of their hopes for a world redeemed....

Perhaps the right way to celebrate Advent is to let the signs of God's love that we receive in this period penetrate our soul, without resistance, without questions and quibbling. Warmed by these signs, we can then receive in full confidence the immeasurable kindess of this child.

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(Quoted from The Blessing of Christmas by Cardinal Ratzinger, Ignatius Press)

The Strength of Beauty (#46)

I love finding wisdom that helps illuminate the positive ways in which we can counter-act the problems in our culture today. Here's what Cardinal Ratzinger had to say about the power that beauty has in drawing us away from what is opposed to God:

Thomas says that through the praise of God man ascends to God. Praise itself is a movement, a path; it is more than understanding, knowing and doing - it is an "ascent", a way of reaching him who dwells amid the praises of the angels. Thomas mentioned another factor: this ascent draws man away from what is opposed to God. Anyone who has ever experienced the transforming power of great liturgy, great art, great music, will know this. Thomas adds that the sound of musical praise leads us and others to a sense of reverence. It awakens the inner man... (Feast of Faith: Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy)