![](\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_dmDaLWNETzg\/SzdhLCyJM6I\/AAAAAAAAAu0\/n8xvRyQ-Loo\/s320\/XmasPope\")
<\/a><\/div>\nPosted by Webster\u00a0<\/i> There is a great line buried in Mark Shea\u2019s reflection<\/a> on the Mary-over-Egypt phenomenon, and it could apply to the whole week, indeed to the entire Christian Fact: We can scoff about such \u201cvisions,\u201d Shea writes, and many do, but \u201cThe thing is, sometimes God shows up<\/span><\/b>.\u201d Isn\u2019t that Christmas in a nutshell?<\/p>\n The Christian Fact became a bit more vivid this week with news that archaeologists had discovered the remains of a Nazareth village<\/a> from two thousand years ago.<\/p>\n Beautifully, miraculously, the Visitation celebrates two women as the parents of Our Lord and his herald, John\u2014after that endless line of men<\/a> listed by Matthew.<\/p>\n I spent my Christmas in Vermont with the four most important people in my life, all women (Katie, Martha, Marian, and Mom). My only regret was missing the Christmas Vigil Mass at St. Mary\u2019s and not singing with my friends in the choir, backed by bells, timpani, and Fred\u2019s magisterial organ. So I read other accounts of Midnight Mass wistfully, but especially this one from Suzanne Temple<\/a> at \u201cBlessed Among Men.\u201d <\/p>\n Of course, Midnight Mass can be a disaster too<\/a>!<\/p>\n Since working my way through his Catholic Christianity <\/i>in RCIA two years ago, I frequently have looked to Peter Kreeft for understanding, and I got it again this week with this meditation on the real meaning of Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Pope\u2019s meditation on the meaning of the Christmas tree<\/a> also caught my eye.<\/p>\n And Sr. Anne at \u201cNunBlog\u201d reminded us that even the fat man in the red suit has profound meaning<\/a> for Catholics who celebrate him as a saint.<\/p>\n We\u2019re still not sure that Shakespeare was a Catholic\u2014which would be the ultimate vindication of Catholics in Anglo culture\u2014but the evidence continues to mount<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, some acknowledgments:<\/p>\n To Frank, who jumped into this YIMC adventure with both feet and who has always loved \u201cA Charlie Brown Christmas,\u201d<\/a> I send along this clip<\/a> courtesy of \u201cThe Deacon\u2019s Bench.\u201d<\/p>\n To Izy of Izyperspective, thanks for this lovely acknowledgment<\/a>. Anyone who features GK Chesterton and MF (\u201cFlannery\u201d) O\u2019Connor in her blog\u2019s sidebar is worth following.<\/p>\n
In October, I called a temporary halt to these weekly good-news summaries. But with visions of Mary over Egypt<\/a> making news during the final days of Advent and with two air disasters averted on the day we celebrate Our Lord\u2019s birth among us, this week all but screams: Good News! Even an attack on Pope Benedict was foiled<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_dmDaLWNETzg\/SzdY9Y-UskI\/AAAAAAAAAus\/yAMPkDNW9Og\/s200\/elizabethgreetsmary.jpg\")
<\/a>As I wrote at the beginning of the week<\/a>, the Visitation is my favorite Mystery of the Rosary, so I was touched by The Anchoress\u2019s meditation<\/a> on the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth. Especially with its quote from one of the novels I enjoyed this year<\/a>, Rumer Godden\u2019s In This House of Brede.<\/i> (The image here is cribbed from Elizabeth\u2019s post.)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/_dmDaLWNETzg\/SzdhanjODMI\/AAAAAAAAAu8\/J8LPpI35jqY\/s200\/Paterno\")
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