Caesar Augustus was the functional founder of the Roman Empire. He gained the power Julius Caesar desired, but that got Caesar killed. Feted by Virgil, victor over Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian took the name Caesar Augustus to give himself grandeur without assuming the dangerous title of King. Augustus is a major player in ancient Western history, but oddly if Linus did not mention him every year in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special most of us would soon forget his name. The... Read more

On a week where the feast of Christmas is close, but the fast of Advent has been long,  the Church changes just for one Sunday from the penitential color purple to a hopeful rose . . . we await the feast of Christmas with hope. The Advent Carol for this week is Hark the Glad Sound. Rose Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent) Sing: 1. Hark, the glad Sound! the Savior comes! The Savior promis’d long! Let ev’ry Heart prepare a Throne,... Read more

Jesus came to Bethlehem and brought Christmas. Pagan friends point out that the Winter Solstice was celebrated long before Christmas and this seems true, though most of “pagan” history is made up in the nineteenth and twentieth century by good hearted people with more imagination than scholarship. Whatever the Winter Solstice was like, and from what we know it was the usual drunken carousing, Jesus made it Christmas. There is nothing wrong with a party and Jesus saved one by... Read more

Our crèche is on display with the typical family eccentricities that (at times) means our three magi end up replaced by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle busts. This passes for humor in the life of a philosopher’s family. If you look in the stable very carefully, you might see a small baby seal. Don’t ask. In fact, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle could not have come to Bethlehem because they were dead hundreds of years before the birth of the Baby! Socrates would... Read more

We have a termite problem in the garage, but not to worry. We have placed Christmas lights on the other side of the patio and it looks fantastic. In the dark, nobody will look at the rot because their eyes will be distracted by the pretty, bright lights. The truth is that come January, work will have to be done. The termites are not impressed with our lighting. The Central African Empire was not a success, but you have to... Read more

Magic says calling a thing by its real name gives the magician power or saying the wrong words is dangerous. Former Secretary of State Clinton apparently will not use the phrase “radical Islam,” because she is searching for a name that will win the struggle or not empower her foes. She presided over a foreign policy that decided anything was better than the brutal Assad regime and the result was Daesh. Meanwhile, Linda Stasi won the Moral Equivalency Award for the San... Read more