I will probably not check in here for a while now, so I will leave you with the Presepio with Babe and Wise Men (but no camel, alas… I found this Nativity set amongst my mother's things at her studio; I'm sure she thrifted it from somewhere… you get what you get!).
I wish you an especially blessed and merry Christmas!
Every Liturgical Season is to be lived not merely as a memory but as a reality more real than the daily time that sometimes seems to restrict our vision to the earthly horizon.
This Advent and Christmas-tide are no different. We are meant to enter in and to abide in the heavenly realm for the time that is given. To dwell in the Kingdom that we are told is within.
Givenness is a mysterious thing that can't be proven or arrived at by thought: it must simply be received. We find givenness in certain irreducible realities: man and woman; time; conscience; existence itself. Woe to us if we rebel, for then we will truly have nothing and will find ourselves staring into the abyss.
We have no higher calling than to accept the gifts given and offer thanks, praise, and adoration; in return, He makes us His sons and daughters, giving us a divine heritage.
What humility is required, to be a child before the Child! The Incarnation, the mystery par excellence, celebrated every year, but also profoundly, this year and now, draws us. Submit, rejoice, arise.
The “going inward” that Christmas represents is calling me too. I am putting the finishing touches on my manuscript (no mean feat as it's three volumes of approximately one zillion pages each — I realize I've been saying for quite a while now that I'm working on it, but… I am!).
My fingers are itching with the knitting that is also calling out to me. I've finished up a good number of socks and mittens and a hat (and I think I'm getting better!)
I will try to post more on IG but maybe even less here.
I hate to be away! But away I must, for the nonce.
Merry Christmas!
bits & pieces
- John Henry Newman, whose theology is of the most austere and encompassing kind, reaching back to the Church Fathers and Scripture for grounding, on conscience. Be attentive! Wisdom: Conscience.
- Middle English O Antiphons, quite the excursion into an ancient form of this liturgical trope.
- With American children now firmly plunked in front of screens, it's time to get a broader vision of how education happened in the past. I have written about this here and am including my thoughts in my book; this article validates what I say, that education (including for slaves) was more widespread and of better quality than we think and than, in most cases probably, what we have today.
- People are talking about Rod Dreher's new book, Live Not by Lies. The title is taken from Solzhenitsyn's essay — well worth reading. I haven't read Rod's book. But if you really want to know more about Solzhenitsyn's thought and how we can apply it to our own situation in order to avoid tyranny, I suggest you read a different author: Dan Mahoney. Dan has delved into every aspect of the great Russian thinker's work and life. He is the premier scholar on the topic as well as a clear observer of current political and philosophical trends. As a committed Catholic with theological insight, he understands the errors we labor under. I recommend his books The Other Solzhenitsyn, The Solzhenitsyn Reader, and The Idol of Our Age: How the Religion of Humanity Subverts Christianity.
- Here is an excellent interview with Dan Mahoney on many topics relating to Solzhenitsyn and the Gulag Archipelago and how they could be prophetic for our situation today.
- Some encouragement for the dyslexic child. Sometimes the pressure to learn to read needs to be removed. (Sometimes it's a matter of checking vision too — I've written about that here.)
from the archives
liturgical year
Day Three of the O Antiphons; tomorrow is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. This year we are being given a beautiful chance to live our Advent without the distraction of premature Christmas celebrations and office parties (which often aren't all that celebratory anyway).
It follows that we are also given the opportunity to go deeper into our Christmas revels. It just takes a little planning, and trust me, your children will love going on little trips with “just us” and in enjoying time for playing games and reading chapter books as a family during the time after Christmas Day itself.
follow us everywhere!
I want to alert you especially to Rosie's “photo a day” project on IG that is drawing to a close (unless she decides to do it again!). It's really delightful!
Stay abreast of the posts when they happen:
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
If you want politics, rants, and takes on what is going on in the Church:
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow — my posts are public — sometimes I share articles here that don’t make it into {bits & pieces})
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest. Bridget’s Pinterest.
Michelle Barrett says
We had that nativity. Bought it at Walmart in 2003. I was annually surprised at how nice it was, given its origin. Sadly, our set was decimated in a stocking hanging accident in 2017.
That is the complete set, BTW!
Leila says
Oh, good to know!
It’s so pretty. I hate the feeling that something is missing, so now I can relax!
Terri says
Beautiful Advent reflection, Leila. Thank you.
And thanks too for the alternative Solzhenitsyn sources. I know I should read his own writings, but I think I’m a bit afraid of what I might find there. I started Dreher’s new book, but stopped right after he compared the federal government’s “failure to respond” to COVID with the tsarist regime’s response to the 1890s famine. Apparently it is okay to employ totalitarian tactics if it’s to keep us all “safe.”
Leila says
Interesting, Terri.
Rod is frustrating. He doesn’t get it.
Solzhenitsyn will repay all your efforts (and Dan Mahoney, a friend of ours, gets it).
meditationsandmiscellany999229906 says
Re: removing the pressure to learn to read… That’s what happened with our oldest son, whom I know would not have fared well in a traditional classroom. He was struggling at 10. I did some occasional Alphaphonics with him, but I was getting stressed because I perceived that he was *behind*. (They do know when Mom is stressed, darn it!) We continued to read aloud to him (which we had done since birth) and he was always so attentive, asking questions. The summer that he was 10 (and free of my lessons), I would say he blossomed – maybe exploded is the better word – into reading. We had a set of encyclopedias from my childhood that he would devour when there was a subject of interest to him (and there were many, as evidenced by all the dog-eared pages I found afterwards). When he was around 12 or 13, yearly testing revealed that he was at a 12th grade level of reading. In his mid to late teens, he would often pour over auto manuals (his interest), books about bow-making, astronomy – he even read Michael D. O’Briens Voyage to Alpha Centauri (no small feat at 586 pages) twice of his own accord.
Clearly he started out lagging a bit, but then quickly sailed past expected ‘grade level’. Since he was our oldest, that was my first experience. We have 8 children, and since then I’ve seen how different they all are. The wisdom I’ve gleaned is that you can’t force a flower to bloom before it’s ready. (And this is true of so many things, not just reading.)
My apologies that this is so long, but my hope is that someone finds this encouraging.
God bless you and yours, Leila!
Melisa
Melisa Capistrant says
Oops! “Pore over auto manuals”, I mean.
Merry Christmas!
Vera says
Merry Christmas Auntie Leila! I CANT WAIT for your book!!!!
Rebekah says
IG’s new data collection policy is disturbing
Anne Marie says
Thank you for helping us “keep it real” during the current crisis. As my late boss used to say, “It takes extraordinary nostrils not to inhale the zeitgeist of the times.” We are relying on your extraordinary nostrils, Auntie Leila! 🙂
So inspired by your twelve days of Christmas celebrations, and trying to plan one for our fam, though California’s shelter-in-place orders are smiting my plans for outings…
allisonciraulo says
Thank you for that beautiful reflection on givenness and how we can live the spirit of Christmas in these times. Your words touched me very much! Merry Christmas!
Logan says
Merry Christmas!
Plum pudding update, I steamed it in the instant pot this year and it came out beautifully! Trying Jamaican style this year and it smells so good!
Leila says
Oh, do tell! How did you do it?? Dish!
Logan says
I followed your directions for putting it in a ceramic mixing bowl and covering it well with aluminum foil. I used a bowl that fit neatly inside my pot. I put the bowl on the steamers rack in the pot and put in enough water so that the bottom of the bowl was sitting in water. Then I hit the steam function and put it on for 60 minutes. That was perfectly done for my one larger pudding.
I did this at night and then just left it there overnight so it was cool when I took it out in the morning and it came out just lovely as can be! It was a lot easier than managing the pot of water on the stove!
Donna L. says
Hello Auntie Leila~ Thank you for your beautiful thoughts about this season – I read it to my Darling Husband and he nodded along with what you said. The truth of those who struggle with dyslexia is real and I had my oldest daughter take a long time to begin reading–patience, and lots of time to just figure it out–then she launched into reading G. K. Chesterton and many books about our faith! We were amazed and grateful!
May God bless you as you finish your books–it is *already* on my mental wish list 🙂
Leila says
Donna, always happy to know of approving nods from husbands! Thank you!
Marie says
I’m just adding another testimony to the idea of removing pressure to help a child learning how to read.
Our eldest son was struggling greatly in school, couldn’t read properly and was falling behind. Pulling him ( and all other kids) out of school in 5th grade was the best thing we ever did. We wish we had done it sooner.
I read aloud daily to them as part of our morning routine, let him use audiobooks as companion. He fell into Narnia, followed the Hobbit, continued along with books that we made available around the house, others found at friends or the library.
Three years later, he just finished the Little Britches series, without the help of the audiobook. We took the pressure off his shoulders but also from ourselves. It became Okay to just hear about great stories, not just read them by yourself, which gave him a desire for more. It’s also still Okay if he reads The Lord of the Rings with audio help. It may be obvious to some but I needed to get over that.