..[Jesus of Nazareth] was not a kind of demon pretending to be human; he was in every respect a genuine living man. He was not merely a man so good as to be “like God”–he was God.

Now, this is not just a pious commonplace: it is not a commonplace at all. For what it means is this, among other things: that for whatever reason God chose to make man as he is limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death he [God] had the honesty and courage to take his own medicine. Whatever game he is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When he was a man, he played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.

—Creed or Chaos? (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company,1949), page 4 (with special thanks to blog reader and friend WW)

Filippo Lippi (c. 1406 – 8 October 1469) was an Italian painter Fillippo Lippi -The Adoration of the Christ Child 1463 pic.twitter.com/o21sTojCCp

— Yiannis Einstein-Ιωάννης Αρβανιτάκης (@yianniseinstein) October 8, 2022

But, for the better understanding and consideration of this thing, let us behold the end of his coming: so shall we perceive what great commodity and profit his nativity hath brought unto us miserable and sinful creatures. The end of his coming was to save and deliver his people, to fulfil the law for us, to bear witness to the truth, to teach and preach the words of his Father, to give light unto the world, to call sinners to repentance, to refresh them that labour and be heavy laden, to cast out the prince of this world, to reconcile us in the body of his flesh, to dissolve the works of the devil last of all, to become a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world.^[48] These were the chief ends wherefore Christ became man, not for any profit that should come to himself thereby, but only for our sakes ; that we might understand the will of God, be partakers of his heavenly light, be delivered out of the devil’s claws, released from the burden of sin, justified through faith in his blood, and finally received up into everlasting glory, there to reign with him for ever. Was not this a great and singular love of Christ towards mankind, that being the express and lively image of God^[49]he would notwithstanding humble himself and take upon him the form of a servant and that only to save and redeem us? O how much are we bound to the goodness of God in this behalf! How many thanks and praises do we owe unto him for this our salvation, wrought by his dear and only Son Christ: who became a pilgrim in earth, to make us citizens in heaven; who became the Son of man, to make us the sons of God; who became obedient to the law, to deliver us from the curse of the law; who became poor to make us rich;^[50] vile to make us precious; subject to death to make us live for ever. What greater love could we seely creatures desire or wish to have at God’s hands?

Read it all.

Adoration of the Christ Child is an oil on canvas painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Correggio, dating from around 1526 and housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy. pic.twitter.com/qtOMV3Ehu3

— EUROPEAN ART (@EuropeanArtHIST) May 9, 2019

Then came, at a predetermined moment, a moment in time
and of time,
A moment not out of time, but in time, in what we call history:
transecting, bisecting the world of time,
a moment in time but not like a moment of time,
A moment in time but time was made through that moment:
for without the meaning there is no time,
and that moment of time gave the meaning.

—T.S. Eliot, Choruses from “The Rock”, VII, as found for example there (page 107).

The Paris Opera House 🇫🇷 Decorated for Christmas. pic.twitter.com/lssew8VC3x

— A Beautiful Culture (@ABeautifulCult1) December 10, 2022

What was the most surprising thing you discovered in your research of St. Thomas?

That Thomas is a much more complicated man than often portrayed in secular and religious histories – infuriating, reckless, and yet calculating and even wise. In terms of his personality, he could be distant, officious. I was surprised at how few people loved him in life. Many respected and admired him, but it is said that only three people were known to have loved him: his mother, Henry II and Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury, his mentor. Thomas is known to have loved his mother, Henry II and Henry’s son, Henry, whom he educated in his house and considered a son. Thanks to the devotion which has built up in the centuries, Thomas was and is much loved by so many, but it is heart-breaking to think that he may not have had the experience of warm human relationships and may have meant he experienced great loneliness. But then, that may have been another reason for him to find refuge in God.

What do you think is the particular holiness of this saint?

If we had known Thomas in his time, we probably would not speak of his holiness. Those who knew him would not have considered him a Saint at all; it was his death that changed people’s view of him. But he had been growing in holiness, little by little. We could say that he was a man who, for all his public persona, was “hidden with Christ in God”, as he struggled to become a better man and a good bishop. He persisted, quietly and often painfully, giving himself to God in prayer and penance, consciously aware of his mistakes and pride.

His desire to be a good bishop came from his sense of duty; in the end, that sense of duty led him to realize that only the sacrifice of his life could bring peace. And he was prepared to offer that sacrifice. Thomas’ particular holiness was the hidden, daily struggle to be what Christ wanted him to be, and that drama was at the heart of the long journey from a man of ambition, an ordinary, decent Catholic, to a man prepared to die for Christ and the Church.

Read it all.

On his feast #otd 29 Dec: The Murder of Thomas Becket, page one, from a Book of c. 1430/40 by Nicolas Brouwer, #Bruges

(Art Institute Chicago)

A grisly precision at work here. pic.twitter.com/fe89YtwMGe

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) December 29, 2022

O God, our strength and our salvation, who didst call thy servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of thy people and a defender of thy Church: Keep thy household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

29 Dec 1170: #Archbishop of #Canterbury Thomas #Becket is murdered in Canterbury #Cathedral by four English knights. King Henry II said, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Shortly after he was killed. He was born in 1117. #BritishHistory #ad https://t.co/Osu4kLqJ6s pic.twitter.com/Yz7qL117t5

— Today In History (@URDailyHistory) December 29, 2022

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who hast given us this season of holy joy: We bow before thee with adoring reverence and lift up our hearts with thankful praise. Fill us, we beseech thee, with the gladness of thy great redemption, and enable us to join in the angels’ song, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Prayers for the Christian Year (SCM, 1964)

Fra Filippo Lippi and Workshop
The Nativity, probably c. 1445

(National Gallery of Art, Washington) pic.twitter.com/0p281HuOgY

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) January 2, 2022

You will say in that day:
    “I will give thanks to thee, O Lord,
    for though thou wast angry with me,
thy anger turned away,
    and thou didst comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the nations,
    proclaim that his name is exalted.

“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
    let this be known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

–Isaiah 12:1-6

Cuillins and Loch Slapin, Isle of Skye #Scotland @angie_weather @ThePhotoHour @BBCScotWeather @VisitScotland @BBCScotWeather pic.twitter.com/GTiJcPd0vV

— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) December 29, 2022