Christmas is of course a time of joy to celebrate the birth of the world redeemer, however December 26th the 2nd day of Christmas is a stark reminder that while the souls of uncounted millions will be delivered thanks to the events of the 25th, it is not without cost.
Because this is the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian Martyr.
Now for those immersed in propaganda of Hamas it might be a surprise that until Muslims started blowing themselves up in their quest to kill Jews a martyr was understood as someone who gave up their live for the cause of the faith without harming anyone else.
Before St. Maximilian Kolbe was killed by the Nazis, before St. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, before Sts. Thomas Moore and St. John Fisher were beheaded, before the first Christian was thrown to the lions and even before the Apostle James the greater was killed by Herod, there was St. Stephen.
St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church singled out for mention in the list of the seven in scripture as: ”a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit “ I suspect, although scripture does not say some ancient authorities suggest that he might have been one of the 72 who were sent out to the various towns to prepare the way for Christ. This would explain his ability to confound the members of the Synagogue of Freedman in his arguments which led to their accusations of blasphemy before the San Hendren.
At his trial he re-iterated the history of Israel from Abraham to Solomon before closing with the words that set them off and led to his death:
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”
When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
Unlike the execution of Jesus which was sanctioned by Rome, Stephen’s stoning was done by a mob in a fit of passion, ironically much like the mobs currently running amok in western cities over Gaza
But note how as they are stoning him what his final words are:
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them“; and when he said this, he fell asleep.
emphasis mine
And by those two acts, the first dedicating himself to God and interceding for those who murdered him, he gave the example that the great Christian Saints have followed for two thousand years. The example of loving God and loving neighbor, even your enemies.
All of us are not called to martyrdom as Stephen was, but all of us are called to follow his example of the love of God and of neighbor, even our enemies.
11th Doctor:Yes, I know that, Rory. I’m not exactly one to miss the obvious but we need everything we can get. Okay, Cyber weapons! This is basically a sentry box. So headless wonder here was a sentry. Probably got himself duffed up by the locals. Never underestimate a Celt. Rory: Doctor— 11th Doctor:Hush, Rory. Thinking. Why leave a Cyberman on guard unless it’s a Cyberthing in the box but why would they lock up one of their own? Okay, no, not a Cyberthing. But what? What? Oh! Missing something obvious, Rory. Something big. Something right slap in front of me. I can feel it. Rory: Yeah. I think you probably are. 11th Doctor:I’ll get it in a minute.
Doctor Who, The Pandorica Opens 2010
The Sunday before last I went to the supermarket with DaWife getting various things we needed for Christmas. As we were leaving there was a pile of large plush Christmas Stuffed Animals at the checkout for a rather low price. My wife immediately noticed a large three foot tall Gnome and game him a big hug, bigger than the ones I’ve been getting lately and went on about how cute he was.
She was working that weekend and left by 1:45 to go to her job. I also work every Sunday but this Sunday the fellows who ride with me had a different ride so instead of leaving early to pick them up I left early to get the Gnome. I didn’t have time to bring him home and I figured my trunk might be dirty so I buckled him into the passenger seat and took him to work with me leaving him in the car.
It was raining that evening so the problem was how to sneak him into the house. I took off my sweater and wrapped him in it and carried him onto the back porch where there was a large Gnome sized empty box that contained the Christmas Tree that is now permanently set up with what used to be our youngest son’s room but is now our permanent Christmas room. I tossed him in quickly and folded the sides so it could not be seen.
When I came in I was the one surprised as there was a Pinball machine in the den (A 1988 Williams Taxi). I had expected a rental for Christmas but not a week early. I also noticed a large blanket on the side of the machine next to the bookshelf that wasn’t there before. DaWife explained that it was the blanket he used to cover glass as it was brought in (a common thing when moving a pinball machine to help prevent it from being shattered and also if it does break to keep the glass from scattering.) and the fellow decided he might as well leave it there as he would need it when he took it out.
That gave me an idea, the next morning when DaWife went to the washing machine, in the covey of the kitchen I rushed the Gnome in put him in the space between the bookcase and the old entertainment center and tossed the blanket over it. Even with her sleeping directly across from the Pinball machine (she has back issues and sleeps on a recliner I sleep on the couch next to the recliner because what’s the point of being married and sleeping in a room alone) she would not be likely to notice something odd with the blanket thinking it was just over some clutter. I was right, she never noticed it.
The pinball machine gave me my plan, after she went to bed on Christmas Eve I would prop up the Gnome on the pinball machine standing up so when she woke up on Christmas day it would be the first thing she would see. When her sister came on Christmas Eve for dinner I showed her the Gnome under the blanket and explained my plan. She grinned and approved.
My sons were both over for Christmas Eve and decided to spend the night. We went to midnight mass and when we got home they went upstairs to sleep while DaWife got comfortable on her recliner. I waited on the couch watching the recap of the miraculous Patriots win over the Broncos but actually waiting for her to fall asleep so I could set up the Gnome. Finally at 2:30 AM I heard her snoring but to play it safe I waited till about 3:15 AM before I set up the Gnome in front of the black glass wondering if she would wake up in the middle of the night and see the gift.
I woke up at 7:38 AM with a bit of a cramp and noticed she was still out like a light. I decided to go to the 8 AM Christmas Mass since I normally go to daily mass anyways so as quietly as I could I made my way out of the room, got dressed and went to Mass. When I got home I parked in the front of the house and coming in the front door I noticed DaWife’s chair empty but the Gnome still set up on the pinball machine.
Confused I came in and saw her at the kitchen table waiting for the water to boil for her coffee and having banana bread. I asked her how her new friend was and she looked at me very odd asking what I was talking about. Trying not to sound incredulous I made conversation and realized that she somehow had not seen the giant 3 foot Gnome right in front of her when she woke up. I kept hinting that she was missing something but despite my efforts I couldn’t talk her into going back into the den. She simply looked at me confused and slightly irritated.
Eventually one of my son’s woke up and came down stairs and noticed the Gnome I signaled to him to say nothing but we started making remarks that indicated to DaWife that she was missing something she still had no clue. Even when I called him into the room and had him take a picture of the Gnome with the Pinball machine she didn’t get it still sitting at the kitchen table sipping her coffee and watching her phone. This is the picture he just took from the recliner my wife sleeps on. The hands on the bottom right are my hands typing this post.
The 2nd son also came down and I also signaled to him to say nothing and he played along. It is now 49 minutes since I came home as even as I type DaWife still hasn’t noticed the Gnome, ironically as I finished typing that sentence she walked in and finally saw it and then I repeated the story to her as I just wrote it. She hugged it named him Norman and finally understood why were were all confused. She insists that I note that she
Was running to the bathroom
Didn’t have her glasses on
And for the sake of peace in the house those things are duly noted
It was not an expensive gift and the you didn’t see it bit took less than an hour but if my sons ever find wives and we have grandchildren for the rest of our lives we will tell them the story of Norman the Invisible Christmas Gnome who Nana couldn’t see right in front of her.
Now if that story isn’t worth $15 bucks I’d like to know what is.
Merry Christmas all!
FYI this week I will be starting my post Christmas Fundraiser to try to get the blog into the black for the year. The goal is $3000 and 5 New $20 a month or 10 $10 a month subscribers. If you wish to keep us going beyond the election to our 16th anniversary please considering kicking in at the TipJar button in the upper left.
Update: DaWife informs me that his name is GNORMAN not Norman I regret the error
Q: How can you tell if President Trump has a Chance of winning a state with a Democrat Governor?
A: If said governor publicly opposes the move in Colorado, odds are Trump would have zero chance of carrying their state.
Although in fairness in Gavin Newsom’s case, the voting process in California is so corrupt that even if Trump was polling in the 60’s the chances of him winning would be under 50-50
RFK Jr. has been denied Secret Service Protection for the 3rd time by the Biden Administration, or whoever is actually making those decisions in the administration.
I suspect that it’s a question of keeping the left’s violent base happy because after this video
Amazing video of RFK Jr.
“I don’t know what it is, but everything in your mind is telling you to blame Israel”
Is there *anything* the Palestinians could do without some people blaming Israel? Fun hypotheticalpic.twitter.com/lwtXVu2oim
They would be really pissed if old Joe didn’t let them get a crack at him.
Oh and we’ve had the first American Hostage held by Hamas who has died offically
The IDF says that 73-year-old Gadi Haggai, who was abducted by Hamas on Oct 7, was murdered. The terror group is still holding his body in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/dGfAKsiZ3Q
Biden was in office when American Hostages were taken once before but neither those hostages nor the dozens of Americans killed by Hamas on Oct 7th are newsworthy to the left or a source of outrage for the Media/left.
Of course for the left/media American lives don’t matter unless their deaths can be blamed on the right people do they?
It hit me today that I have a few Jewish relatives as one of my nephews married a nice Jewish girl and have a fair sized family.
Haven’t seen him in years and the kids are now grown but I’m hoping they aren’t getting trouble where they are.
Of course if anyone decided to harm any of them the real question would not be what would happen to such people, it would be a question of which grandparent on my nephew’s side would take vengeance, the special forces one or the Sicilian one. I suspect the special forces one would be quicker but the Sicilian one would be more memorable and lasting.
As a devout Catholic I of course could not condone either but if it did happen the Sicilian in me would be nodding. Personally I don’t think vengeance is worth losing one’s soul over.
And finally on a financial note a lot of folks in LA are celebrating the signing of Ohtani to his $700 million dollar deal but I suspect the folks in Sacramento are horrified at the deal’s structure because of the precedent it might set:
Ohtani this month agreed to play for the Dodgers for a decade at $70 million per season, but from 2024-33, he’ll draw just $2 million per season. Ohtani is deferring $680 million — more than 97 percent of his earnings — until after his 10-year deal with the Dodgers expires, when that money comes back to him in equal annual payments from 2034-43.
When Ohtani receives the bulk of the money, he’ll no longer be under contract with the Dodgers; experts say that the structure of the contract appears likely to save Ohtani between $90 and $100 million in state taxes, so long as he lives outside of California when the deferred money is paid out.
Another key component in potential tax savings is how he has timed the deferral payments, spanning a decade. A 1996 federal law forbids states from taxing retirement income on out-of-state residents when payments are made in “substantially equal periodic” amounts over at least 10 years
Athletes playing on California teams are the one set of millionaires not in a position to leave the state, but if they go the Ohtani route, not only will they wisely have funds to live on when their playing days are done but will keep the state from taking the bulk of their cash when they do.
There are plenty of stories in conservative media celebrating Douglas Murray taking apart Cenk Uygur in their discussion on the Israel/Hamas war (and full credit to Uygur for having the guts to have the discussion). That Murray could do this was no surprise as he does tend to do shoe leather reporting and such work regardless of the quality of sources always superior from pontificating from afar.
But the real news here wasn’t that debate or even that it took place, the news was an assertion Murray made during the exchange that I think is the single most important fact concerning the Palestinians in the west bank of the Jordan. To wit:
If there was an election tomorrow in the West Bank, Hamas would win.
emphasis mine
Run that through your head for a second.
Hamas has committed one of the worst and most barbaric attacks on civilians that we have seen in decades including the mass rape of women, the desecrations of corpus and the kidnap, murder and even baking of babies. The video of the livestreams of these events have left people who have seen this video, even seasoned reporters and those experienced in dealing with trauma visibly shaken.
Furthermore the actions of Hamas has led to the Jewish state invading Gaza and putting the residents in such a state due to it being a war zone that they have an issue with basic supplies, their economy such as it is, is crushed and their future prospects for anything resembling a normal life are shaky at best and non-existent at worst.
Yet despite these facts Murray, an experienced reporter who has direct experience of the area asserts that Palestinians in the west bank would, not a year ago, not before Oct 7th, not before seeing the end result that it has led to for Palestinians in Gaza, TODAY despite everything choose to vote for Hamas to lead them.
In fairness the kleptocracy of the Palestinian Authority does deserve some credit here but even so the idea that they would vote Hamas seems insane. But if we are to believe Murray consider:
The murder of the Jews doesn’t bother them
The kidnapping, atrocities against woman and babies doesn’t bother them
The risk of their own areas being flattened in response to a potential Hamas attack bothers them
All that matters to them is that Hamas is willing to attack and kill Jews. That willingness to do so overrides all other considerations.
You can’t make peace with such people, the only thing you can do short of destroying them, expelling them or ruling them with an iron fist, is contain them which seems to be the goal of Israel. It involves risk and will cost lives but is the only way to avoid the other unacceptable choices.
The sooner the world learns that the better.
Update: Been gone all day to the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette which in addition to being an awesome Catholic shrine with mass, confession and a large collection of Christmas Creches from all over the world has a rather more famous Christmas light display so I didn’t have any idea that I’d been Instalanched till my son mentioned it in passing as we were getting ready to leave for home. Thanks Ed and welcome all, take a look around. Be aware that our first fundraiser in a couple of years will be kicking off after Christmas. The goal is $3k overall with 5 new subs at $20 a month. If you want to get us started toward that goal it would be much appreciated.
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