Reflection on the Nativity Gospels, #11

Nativity Gospels

My soul magnifies the Lord Reflections on the Nativity Gospels, #11 Luke 1:39-56 Two humble women, both with child, meet in a town in the hills of Judea, and nothing less than the change of the ages is underway. The elder woman, who had long been barren, greets the...

Reflection on the Nativity Gospels, #12

Nativity Gospels

All generations shall call me blessedReflections on the Nativity Gospels, #12Luke 1:39-56 ‘Hail, Fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation.’ These joyous words from the hymn to the Mother of God on the Feast of her Entrance into the Temple vividly express the...

Reflection on the Nativity Gospels, #13

Nativity Gospels

He has filled the hungry with good things Reflections on the Nativity Gospels #13Luke 1:39-56 It is time once again to consider our icon of the Supplication (Deisis), depicting Christ Almighty flanked by John the Baptist, the final prophet of the Old...

Reflection on the Nativity Gospels, #14

Nativity Gospels

She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger Reflections on the Nativity Gospels #14Luke 2:1-7 On Christmas Eve in the year 1223, St. Francis of Assisi marked the feast of Christ’s birth with a crib scene or creche, inaugurating a beloved custom that...

Reflection on the Nativity Gospels, #15

Nativity Gospels

Glory to God in the HighestReflections on the Nativity Gospels #15Luke 2:8-20    When Uzziah, the tenth king of Judah, died in 739 B.C., the prophet Isaiah underwent an extraordinary experience in the Jerusalem Temple. He beheld the Lord God Almighty on His...

Christ-Hymn of Philippians, #1

Christ Hymns of Philippians

‘Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus’Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 1] When St. Paul was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel in Philippi, St. Luke tells us he and his companion Silas sang hymns of praise to God (Acts 16:15). Later, St. Paul instructed the...

Christ-Hymn of Philippians, #2

Christ Hymns of Philippians

Though He was in the form of God….’Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 2] Wings of Desire is a 1987 film by German director Wim Wenders. Its main character is an angel who spends his time overlooking the vast city of Berlin from lofty heights and listening to the inner thoughts...

Christ-Hymn of Philippians, #3

Christ Hymns of Philippians

‘In the Form of God…’Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 3] ‘Who do people say that I am?’ Jesus asked Peter as they passed through Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27). It’s a question that has echoed down the ages. There have been all sorts of answers, some of them saying more about...

Christ-Hymn of Philippians, #4

Christ Hymns of Philippians

‘He emptied Himself…Philippians 2:5-11 [Part 4] ‘Greed is good,’ proclaimed Gordon Gekko, the rapacious financier in the 1987 film Wall Street. Indeed, we oftentimes can be tempted to think that grasping, self-serving exploitation is a fundamental human trait. The...

Christ-Hymn of Philippians, #5

Christ Hymns of Philippians

‘Born in human likeness…’Philippians 2:5-11  [Part 5] ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.’ These opening lines of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 point out a problem. How do you describe the indescribable? When something is...