Archive for December, 2005
Idolatrous Churches Closed on Christmas
You know your church is messed up when even CNN (sometimes affectionately known as Christ-hater News Network) knows you are doing something wrong.
The network is reporting about a number of well-known so-called mega-churches that are cancelling services on Christmas Day, even though it falls on a Sunday this year. First, keep in mind that most [...]
And In This Corner . . . Santa Claaaauuuusss!!!
Everyone who knows me will tell you that my favorite fourth century Turkish saint to commemorate on December 6th is none other than Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. We always exchange gifts on this day in our household in remembrance of the good bishop’s fabled kindness and generosity.
I’ve long known that St. Nicholas attended the First [...]
I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus
Do you believe in Santa Claus? I don’t and as far as I can recall, I never have. Now the troubling thing is that some of you will think I had a deprived childhood for not experiencing the “magic” of Santa. Well, it gets even worse. We never taught our son anything about Santa [...]
Recommended Advent Devotional Reading
Every Advent for that last several years, I have read a book by St. Athanasius called On the Incarnation. It’s short enough, only around 100 pages, that it can easily be read over the four weeks leading up to Christmas. It would also be suitable for a Christmastide devotional.
St. Athanasius, as you know, confronted the [...]
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “”, url: “http://www.burrintheburbs.com/2005/12/04/1351/” });
It’s Festivus for the Rest-of-Us
The world is trying to change Christmas into something else, something it’s not. The world says that Christmas is a time for decorations and large meals, a time for family and children, a time for presents and the Charlie Brown Christmas special on TV. And while all those things are nice, the only one that [...]
Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah!!
Maybe you’ve noticed that there’s a bit of a controversy brewing these days about whether people should say, “Merry Christmas.” My take on it is this: If someone says to me, “Happy holidays,” I will respond, “What are you talking about? There is nothing called “holidays.” What exactly do you mean?” I intend to do [...]
Flannery O’Connor Shouts to the Morally Hard of Hearing
Why is it that the so many of the greatest 20th century American authors were Roman Catholics? One of my favorites happens to be Flannery O’Connor, who died much too early in 1964 from lupus. She wrote a number of short stories including the classic A Good Man is Hard to Find. Her [...]
