...and she laid Him in a manger...

Today, the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will try hard to dig out our family's lovely Nativity scene. I am reading this and this to better prepare myself for the natural discussions and questions that will come as we place our figures around our home. Maybe, with careful planning, we can be ready to plant an Immaculate Conception rose bush out back next Advent 2010. Like lots of mothers who are converts, it is wonderful for me to make a file of traditional customs, crafts and songs that I want to add to our family's preparations for the most moving Feast of the Nativity. This excerpt below is from the Catholic Culture link -- so beautiful:

Why was Christ born? ...God loved man and He sent His Son as a tiny Baby. Get the children to think why He came as a baby. (We adults need to think of this too, SS.) They will think of good reasons. Lead them on to see that God wanted to be close to us, a little baby in our midst, because He loves us. One of His names, "Emmanuel," means God-with-us.

The point to make clear is that He came for love. Few people take in the fact vividly that God loves us, and that is, after all, the greatest fact of life. If He loves us, we love Him back. We don't want to displease Him. We thank Him for loving us, knowing that the love of God for us is something so great that we cannot even begin to be grateful enough.

Chesterton's Brave New Family and the Twilight series

I have been working my way through JPII's Mulieris Dignitatem. Last fall, at one of my Catholic mom discussion/prayers groups, I brought up the force of argument and sheer prophecy of Chesterton's Brave New Family, which I checked out of my parish library when I was pregnant with our Little Man. At the time, I read alot of it, but want to buy it, re-read it, talk and write about it. A Culture of Life exists in this country, even amidst all the decay of our country's moral fabric. That our grandchildren might see more life and light and love is a goal held by many. I think the author of the Twilight series has tapped in to the hope of many people --young and old-- that Americans could uphold the true meaning of love, of committment, of self-restraint, of the life of the soul and of marriage and family. Hope needs to be truly heroic these days. As we encourage our young people to fight for what is right, a Culture of Life will flourish and, one day, reign supreme, as it ought. (Btw, my "jury" is still out on Twilight, until I finish the series, but I think I see where it is going.)