By Joshua David Ling … The rearing of William Avery was the best that it could be. / From the age of three he learned to sing in four part harmony. / At five, he learned to fence and soon he learned to read and write. / But the Bible was his one true joy in morning and at night.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” … My friend prays at the Stable each Christmas Eve / In statio at St. Michael’s, waiting for the Light / (But indolent half-pagan that I am / I want an early bed on any night)
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How long does Christmas last? Read on…
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By Ruth Amsden … Ebenezer Scrooge, a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner,” appears upon introduction to be beyond the reach of love, human or divine. Scrooge is an object lesson for St. Paul’s exhortation to St. Timot
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By T.K. Wilson … The Great Martyr Anastasia was born in Rome, the daughter of a pagan and a secret Christian. During the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian, she ministered to those in prison, slipping out in disguise, keeping this from her pagan husband. She used her wealth to free the captives and also, using her skill as an herbalist, cured many wounds and diseases, hence her title Deliverer from Poisons, as she knew how to reverse poisonings.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … A river flows out into all that is / And with it your music across the universe / To sing the happy beginnings of all things / To celebrate the holiness of being
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By Amanda Pizzolatto … It began with a prophecy uttered long ago / Bringing hope to a people that fell from grace / That the Son of God would come to Earth / And not only show us His heavenly Face / But also offer Himself up for our sins / So the Heavenly gates would open to the human race
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by Ian Wilson … A brilliant theologian and defender of the Russian Orthodox church, Archbishop Hilarion was born Vladimir Alexievich Troitsky around the year 1885 in the Russian village of Lipitsa. He was born into a family of clergy and theologians, and followed in his father’s footsteps.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … We leave the comfort of a little fire / And repair to the kitchen for a morning repast / Of bacon crisp, of toast from home-baked bread / And omelettes more golden than the morning sun
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By Luke Towns … I handed my pastor the plush octopus and told him, “This is the best animal in the basket.” It was after I returned to my seat that a random thought popped into my head seemingly out of nowhere. “I want my spiritual life to be like an octopus.”
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By Sarah Levesque … St. Bernadette was born Marie-Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844. She was considered a sickly child, and had asthma. Whether due to ailments or other difficulty learning, Bernadette was unable to read, write, or learn her catechism lessons properly as a child, which delayed her First Communion. At the age of fourteen, over the course of six months, she had eighteen visions of Mary, Mother of God…
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Like children dancing, leaves form up in rows / Then skitter across each corner and street / As shoals in rolling ranks overflowing other ranks / Or little tornadoes laughing through circles and swirls
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By Cordelia Fitzgerald … First, “I will not serve!” echoed through the heavens, but the second great rebellion was silent, the fruit in the mouth of Eve speaking louder than words. Yet stronger than these rang the simple statement of a Virgin: “Be it done to me according to thy word.”
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By Caroline Liberatore … Edmund Campion is notably remembered and celebrated yearly with a feast day on December 1st. Although there are many components of his later life which we annually recall and commemorate, his entire life was remarkable upon examination.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … No more the withered summer-browns of death / Crumbling and sere upon the dry and crackling ground / Beneath a Rime of the Ancient Mariner sky – / Leaves in autumn colours are falling now
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … The arc from Thanksgiving to Christmas is when the thoughtful cook will seek out MeeMaw’s cookbook to verify seasonal specialties: Waldorf salad, corn casserole, turkey fried or baked or broiled, ham fried or baked or boiled, and those old traditional dishes special to each family.
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By T.K. Wilson … Beginning in the 1600s, the Catholic Church was violently persecuted by the Vietnamese government, but that did not stop the church from growing. One of the main heroes of the Vietnamese church was Andrew Dung-Lac.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Memories of a drive-through just won’t do / Set something on your table, if only for you / A turkey plate from the grocery store / Two side dishes from cans, or maybe more
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By Thomas Adams … You stole my heart with a look from your eyes. / What I thought was a blazing fire quickly cooled to ice. / I fell in love with a heart who loved what I love.
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By Sarah Levesque … Gregory of Tours was likely born in the Merovingian kingdom (now France) around the year 539. He had many important relations, which likely eventually helped secure his appointment to the bishopric. Be that as it may, Gregory was appointed bishop of Tours during the reign of King Sigebert and Queen Brunhild of East Francia in 573.
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LogoSophia Magazine 