All I want for Christmas…

American songbird Mariah Carey bags up to three million dollars every year for her romantic Christmas hit – ‘All I want For Christmas is You’. This notion made me ponder: what do I want (knowing that Christ is already a given!)  The answer came loud and clear during my December spiritual reading. This  included a letter from St Francis Xavier to St Ignatius of Loyola. St Francis, writing from his mission field, described a country that was utterly barren and poor. “The native Christians have no priests. They know only that they are Christians. There is nobody to say Mass for them…” I began to envisage Ireland as this barren land. Despite our wealth, we have become spiritually poor, not just in vocations but in respect for life before birth.

Vocation

Religious life appears to be dying out in many parts of  Ireland, and vocations to the priesthood are a trickle. Consider also the news from Stormont recently. The TUV assembly member Timothy Gaston referred to abortion as a “quiet holocaust”. His question to the NI Health Minister had been answered: revealing that 32 boys and girls, earmarked for abortion, survived the termination. That is they were born alive and died later. “Utterly barbaric,” said Precious Life. The abortion rate is now in the tens of thousands across this island. Something to consider as we commemorate ‘The Holy Innocents’ on December 28. It is a day when parishioners can be encouraged to place a white flower at the crib in memory of a little child who was miscarried or terminated.

Fruitfulness flows from spiritual fatherhood and spiritual motherhood. We forget this at our peril”

I noted with joy that the Vatican unveiled on December 15 its first ever overtly pro-life crib. Instead of straw it features 25,000 ribbons representing babies saved through the international 40 Days for Life prayer and support initiative.

We Catholics must increase our prayers for life for our unborn and for the birth of new priests and religious. Fruitfulness flows from spiritual fatherhood and spiritual motherhood. We forget this at our peril.

The Sisters of Life visited Ireland this year – oh that this North American congregation, which is dedicated to protecting unborn children and women in vulnerable pregnancies, or a similarly vibrant congregation would come to this island!

This is not a want; it is a need!

***

Nothing could ever be the same again…

 

n the days before Christmas, I had an interesting email exchange with bible scholar, John Barton. He is the author of the best-selling book, A History of the Bible. Our communication was sparked by a tweet from a Catholic who decided not to read beyond page two of Barton’s best-selling book. Why?

Because Barton’s work failed to use the traditional Christian dateline references BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini – The Year of Our Lord). Instead, it used secular expressions such as BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era).

Reference

I wondered why a theologian would do this – and Prof. Barton graciously responded, indicating that it was increasingly the standard in publishing.

A History of the Bible is published by Penguin which, to my mind, is perhaps more concerned about catering to the secular market than Christian sensibilities. But surely a book about the bible is likely to draw a large number of Christian readers and so is hardly a secular book for the secular market. In this case, surely, it is more appropriate for publishers such as Penguin to use both references?

Several reviewers did note that Barton’s book did not use the Christian terms based on the Gregorian calendar.

The Latin term ‘Anno Domini’ or AD is credited to a sixth century Christian monk, named Dionysius Exiguus, while the English form, BC, came into common use much later, popularised by another monk, Bede The Venerable.

I understand that the Gregorian calendar miscalculated by a few years the birth of Our Lord and that in the seventeenth century the German mathematician and astrologer tried to correct this with his BC and BCE. But how interesting that it is only in recent decades – in our woke secular era – that the ‘less offensive’ secular terms have really taken root.

Perhaps for some it is a small thing, and not to read Barton’s book may be out of proportion. I may not have stopped reading after page two, but the secular timelines would have coloured my perception.

Erasing BC and AD seems to be part of a one-way track which preaches a diversity and inclusion which in reality is neither”

There has been some kickback. In Texas, there’s a legislative push in the Senate to mandate the use of the Christian-centric terms in public schools. The result of this bill should be known in 2026AD.

Frankly, erasing BC and AD seems to be part of a one-way track which preaches a diversity and inclusion which in reality is neither. In fact, it presses for the removal of Christian culture and ideas – and encourages those who are foolish enough to deny the evidence that Jesus was even born.

Meaning

Using the Christian terms BC and AD speaks the truth: that the divine son of God was born of a woman in Bethlehem in the fullness of time. It also gives biblical meaning to the Incarnation and underlines the importance of Christ’s birth in human history. There was nothing common about the Incarnation. When God became man and entered human history, everything was changed, with death and sin and our nature utterly transformed. After the union between the human and the divine, nothing could ever be the same again. What is amazing is that we are so unamazed by it!

“The history of salvation,” wrote Benedict XVI, “is not a small event on a poor planet in the immensity of the universe. It is not a minimal thing which happens by chance on a lost planet. It is the motive for everything…”

So with theological books in hand by my favourite Christian bible scholars, Scott Hahn and Jeff Cavins, I say, with great joy and satisfaction, Merry Christmas 2025AD!

 

New Year cheer with only a joy hangover

The seventh day of Christmas falls on December 31 – and can be a bittersweet occasion as we reflect on those we have lost along life’s journey – and what trials are to come. The most joyful New Year I ever spent was at Mass – receiving the new wine of the Kingdom just as the clock turns towards midnight. The only hangover the next day was a joy hangover!

With that in mind, the parish priest of St Oliver Plunkett in Belfast is offering a New Year’s Mass this December 31 at 11pm – followed by refreshments. “I’m not one for New Year’s Eve,” said Fr Tony McAleese, one of the youngest priests in Down and Connor. He was ordained at age 34 in 2018. “I never really liked going out on it either as you would wait ages for a taxi home and then on New Year’s day you would have a hangover.”

After offering Mass last year and being delighted with the response, he is opening the doors of his church again this year for midnight Mass. “I love the phrase which I use for adoration – ‘Wasting time with the Lord – it got me thinking, why not ring in the New Year with the Lord, handing over to him our Hope for the year to be fruitful when we trust in him who created us and loved us first.”

“Bring in the New Year in faith and hope,” said Fr Tony who added that God’s family gather for the Blessed Sacrament and receive the graces of the Mass, not just for 2026 but for all eternity.

And for those who seek special graces in 2026, St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast, recommences its weekly night of adoration and healing on New Year’s Day at 7.30pm.