Lex Anteinternet: Merry Christmas! Καλά Χριστούγεννα, Frohe Weihnac...

Lex Anteinternet: Merry Christmas! Καλά Χριστούγεννα, Frohe Weihnac...:   

Merry Christmas! Καλά Χριστούγεννα, Frohe Weihnachten!, Поздравляю со cветлым праздником Рождества!, Häid jõule, Mutlu Noeller, Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus, क्रिसमस की बधाई, Linksmų Kalėdų, Bella da Nadel!, کریسمس مبارک, สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส, Ya Krismasi, Felix dies Nativitatis, Nollaig Shona Daoibh!, Vrolijk kerstfeest!, Noflike krystdagen! Nollaig Chridheil, Krismasi njema, Natale! Joyeux Noël !, Gleðileg jól, ¡Feliz Navidad!, Feliz Natal!,God jul!. めりーくりすます, 행복한 크리스마스 되십시오, Chúc Giáng Sinh Vui Vẻ!, 圣诞节快乐, Maging maligaya sana ang iyong pasko, Hyvää Joulua! щасливого Різдва, Wesołych Świąt, Eguberri on, Eedookh Breekha, عيد ميلاد سعيد, חג מולד שמח, Craciun Fericit, Boldog Karácsonyt!, Cestit Bozic!

 

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.  The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest ^fand on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

Καὶ ποιμένες ἦσαν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ ἀγραυλοῦντες καὶ φυλάσσοντες φυλακὰς τῆς νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὴν ποίμνην αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐπέστη αὐτοῖς, καὶ δόξα κυρίου περιέλαμψεν αὐτούς• καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον μέγαν. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ ἄγγελος, Μὴ φοβεῖσθε• ἰδοὺ γάρ, εὐαγγελίζομαι ὑμῖν χαρὰν μεγάλην, ἥτις ἔσται παντὶ τῷ λαῷὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήμερον σωτήρ, ὅς ἐστιν χριστὸς κύριος, ἐν πόλει Δαυίδ. Καὶ τοῦτο ὑμῖν τὸ σημεῖον• εὑρήσετε βρέφος ἐσπαργανωμένον, καὶ κείμενον ἐν φάτνῃ. Καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου, αἰνούντων τὸν θεόν, καὶ λεγόντων, Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις θεῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη• ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία. Καὶ ἐγένετο, ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπ' αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι, οἱ ποιμένες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, Διέλθωμεν δὴ ἕως Βηθλέεμ, καὶ ἴδωμεν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τὸ γεγονός, ὃ ὁ κύριος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν. Καὶ ἦλθαν σπεύσαντες, καὶ ἀνεῦραν τήν τε Μαριὰμ καὶ τὸν Ἰωσήφ, καὶ τὸ βρέφος κείμενον ἐν τῇ φάτνῃἸδόντες δὲ διεγνώρισαν περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ λαληθέντος αὐτοῖς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου τούτου. Καὶ πάντες οἱ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν περὶ τῶν λαληθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν ποιμένων πρὸς αὐτούς. Ἡ δὲ Μαριὰμ πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς. Καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν οἱ ποιμένες, δοξάζοντες καὶ αἰνοῦντες τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἤκουσαν καὶ εἶδον, καθὼς ἐλαλήθη πρὸς αὐτούς. 

Churches of the West: Churches of the West: On the morality of the Coron...

Churches of the West: Churches of the West: On the morality of the Coron...: In what should put this matter to rest, the Vatican indicated that the vaccines are not morally objectionable. Churches of the West: On the ...

Churches of the West: On the morality of the Coronavirus Vaccines.

Churches of the West: On the morality of the Coronavirus Vaccines.: This is something that you have to be pretty attuned, I think, to the Catholic world to pick up on, and to appreciate.  There's been som...

Lex Anteinternet: More on Societal Scurvy

Lex Anteinternet: More on Societal Scurvy: 

More on Societal Scurvy

We linked this in earlier this week, but perhaps we should have saved it for today:

Lex Anteinternet: SOCIETAL SCURVY:   SOCIETAL SCURVY

A series of related items appeared in the news today, and we'd pondered linking this in here.

The them of this entry from Catholic Stuff You Should Know has to deal with the impact of Sunday services in unknown and unseen ways.  It's excellently done, and deals with community, or lack of it, in this Pandemic Era.

We run a series here every Sunday, as the few folks who routinely stop in know, called Sunday Morning Scenes. These are, of course, just pictures from our companion blogs in which we've photographed churches, for the most part, although occasionally they include commentary.

There's no doubt that the pandemic has been hard on community, and that very much includes churches.  In my own region the Bishop of Cheyenne has suspended the obligation to attend Mass that Catholics normally have.  That is, church attendance isn't optional for Catholics, normally.  Right now it is here.

For a time the churches opened back up and when they did, I resumed going to Mass.  I missed it in more ways than one and felt an obligation to do so.  Indeed, I also was critical of the Bishops in the US stopping public Masses in general and felt they should not have.

Now, however, that we are in the thick of the pandemic I've not gone the last few weeks.  I may be in a category that's distinctly different from some others around here, but having watched Coronavirus rip through the legal community, killing at least one local lawyer and disabling, at least temporarily, some others, I'm taking this seriously.  Indeed, I'm in the "avoidance" category of people who isn't going to stores, and isn't going to restaurants, and the like right now.  I'm stilling going into my office as I have to, but for the next few weeks I'm riding this out by minimalizing my contact with people as much as I can.

There's no doubt, however, that this has crossed  over to a point that's having a negative personal impact on the psyche of a lot of people.  In today's news there are reports that alcohol and marihuana abuse are at an all time high.  Pornography use is as well. Both of these are addressed in the Societal Scurvy episode mentioned above.  In Japan suicide deaths for last month exceeded the the number of COVID deaths in that country and are back up at rates last scene in 2015, which of course is not all that long ago.

At some point, something has to be done, but what?  Will we break through this and be back out in January?  

On being cautious, while I rarely mention it I had a childhood asthma condition and after having talked to several people who have had it, and survived it, I'm pretty sure that the common views in some quarters that its not as bad as people claim don't hold up, at least for some people.  So, yes, I'm now worried.  Not panicked, but worried.

And I'm worried about society too.  People holed up and not getting out at all, some people naively fleeting to rural areas in the belief that it can't get to them there.  Things are not good right now.

I wonder if people dealt with this better in 1917-18?  I'm not convinced we are dealing with this well right now.  Indeed, in a lot of ways, I think we're less well situated to deal with it now, than we were then.

Churches of the East: Justices lift New York’s COVID-related attendance ...

Churches of the East: Justices lift New York’s COVID-related attendance ...:   Justices lift New York’s COVID-related attendance limits on worship services

Churches of the West: November 18, 1966. The Latin Rite of the Catholic ...

Churches of the West: November 18, 1966. The Latin Rite of the Catholic ...: Smelt being eaten by members of Congress and their guests. On this day the Latin Rite Catholic Bishops of the United States relaxed the rule...

Churches of the East: Blog Mirror: Brooklyn Catholic diocese asks justi...

Churches of the East: Blog Mirror: Brooklyn Catholic diocese asks justi...: I don't know.  Earlier in this crisis, I may have bene sympathetic, a bit, to such a move.  But not so much now. Anyhow, commentary on A...