Free Republic

"It's a Wonderful Life" occupies a top spot on my list of favorite Christmas movies, but "The Family Man" is not far behind. The first is about a man who, in reality, lived a full and important life, but did not realize it. The other is about a man who lived a life he thought was full and important, only to learn it was lacking. For me, I rarely if ever have moments like George Bailey. I enjoy what I do. I have been speaking and writing about issues, political and nonpolitical, for decades and am fortunate enough to get...

December 29, 2021 5th day within the octave of Christmas St Thomas Becket Church, Lewisham, Australia Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.First reading1 John 2:3-11 ©Anyone who loves his brother is living in the lightWe can be sure that we know Godonly by keeping his commandments.Anyone who says, ‘I know him’,and does not keep his commandments,is a liar,refusing to admit the truth.But when anyone does obey what he has said,God’s love comes to perfection in him.We can be sure that we are in Godonly when the one who claims to be living in himis living the same kind of life as...

This is the moment a so-called Karen trespassed into a family's home in Chicago to complain about the noise of their Christmas party - only to be quickly thrown out by furious family members. The video, posted on TikTok by user Katy Ileana, shows a family delighting in Christmas celebrations as they open presents in their kitchen on the evening of December 24, as is traditional for many Hispanic Americans. Suddenly, a grey haired, bespectacled woman enters through the kitchen door with her arms in the air and says: 'Can I ask you guys to shut it down? 'It's about...

Tuesday 28 December 2021 The Holy Innocents, Martyrs Feast Church of the Holy Innocents, New YorkReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red.First reading1 John 1:5-2:2 ©The blood of Jesus Christ purifies us all from sinThis is what we have heard from Jesus Christ,and the message that we are announcing to you:God is light; there is no darkness in him at all.If we say that we are in union with Godwhile we are living in darkness,we are lying because we are not living the truth.But if we live our lives in the light,as he is in the light,we are in union with one...

Tuesday 28 December 2021 The Holy Innocents, Martyrs Feast Church of the Holy Innocents, New YorkReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red.First reading1 John 1:5-2:2 ©The blood of Jesus Christ purifies us all from sinThis is what we have heard from Jesus Christ,and the message that we are announcing to you:God is light; there is no darkness in him at all.If we say that we are in union with Godwhile we are living in darkness,we are lying because we are not living the truth.But if we live our lives in the light,as he is in the light,we are in union with one...

"The debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not rages anew every December. Fans of the Bruce Willis action classic will likely litigate this until the end of time. That debate extends to the cast and crew, as well. Recently, another star of the film weighed in to say yes, Die Hard is as Christmas as It’s a Wonderful Life. De’voreaux White, who played Argyle, John McClane’s limo driver, recently wrote a piece for Newsweek about his time on the Bruce Willis classic and how he landed the gig. About halfway into the column, White lays the...

A seven year-old girl left badly injured because of a tornado that killed her nine year-old sibling couldn't contain her excitement after receiving boxes of Christmas gifts from Donald and Melania Trump. An enthusiastic Avalinn Rackley, 7, reacted to the news when filmed by her grandmother, Pam Moore, weeks after her older sister and best friend Annistyn was killed by a tornado that also destroyed the family home in Caruthersville, Missouri on December 10. 'These boxes came in the mail, and they are from...President Trump! Both of these boxes. Can you believe it?' Moore says as Avalinn grins with expectation....

It’s Christmastime, America, and you know what that means: It’s almost Kwanzaa! It’s also the season when public school classrooms across the fruited plain have pointedly avoided Christmas, but have teemed with lessons about Kwanzaa and a handful of other holidays which aren’t Christmas.

It’s Monday; I have to keep reminding myself because my internal calendar is totally whacked. It’s still dark out so I don’t know how much but I do know it snowed overnight as I heard the snowplows go through starting at 4:30. So far they’ve done 4 passes, 2 on each side of the street, so I’m guessing a respectable amount. Emma Haworth, Swan LakeThe sun is expected shortly after dawn, before the next storm comes through later this afternoon.Gustaf Fjaestad, Snow Covered Road With FenceAnd wouldn’t you know it, now that Christmas is over along comes this perfect gift:...

27 December 2021, MondayFeast of Saint John, Apostle, Evangelist St. John the Evangelist Church, Malad(W), Mumbai, India Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.First reading1 John 1:1-4 ©The Word, who is life - this is our subjectSomething which has existed since the beginning,that we have heard,and we have seen with our own eyes;that we have watchedand touched with our hands:the Word, who is life –this is our subject.That life was made visible:we saw it and we are giving our testimony,telling you of the eternal lifewhich was with the Father and has been made visible to us.What we have seen and heardwe are...

Few verses are more popular at Christmas than Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward man.” It’s a heart-warming verse that Christmas cards and decorations have simplified, for decades, to mean “Peace on Earth.” It’s also the one that Linus quoted in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) in his classic “drop the mic” moment during a speech after Charlie Brown yelled in frustration: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!” Charlie Brown was decrying Scrooge-like commercialism. Boy, were those the good old days when that was all we had...

I will be blunt: There’s very little newsworthy happening around the holidays but media outlets still have pages, either on paper or in the cyber world, that need to be filled. This is the time when you get a lot of cozy human interest stories and cute cat and dog photos. But still, there’s yawning empty space and looming deadlines. That’s when writers dig deep into themselves and write those essays that come most easily to them: They go public with their pet peeves. And that, undoubtedly, is why an MSNBC writer decided that the best thing to write for...

Author’s Note: Interested readers can find all previous volumes of this series here. News Flash: The first 56 volumes are compiled into a book titled “Bible Study For Those Who Don’t Read The Bible.”Thanks for joining our Christmas weekend Bible study. Today we celebrate the birth of baby Yeshua (Jesus’s name in Hebrew) that begins a two-part discussion of Messianic prophecies found in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.First, we read what Jesus said about the prophecies, and a VIP guest offers some meaningful insight. Then a review of what was written in the Hebrew Bible relevant to Christmas and the lineage...

Guess what? I scored big for Christmas. I got my number-one gift. Actually, 80 million Trump warriors (aka "deplorables") scored big for Christmas. Because we all asked Santa for a Trump comeback. Well, we got more than we hoped for. Because Trump has made perhaps the biggest comeback in history. And he did it far faster than anyone imagined possible. I call it "The Donald Trump Christmas Miracle." But of course, you'd never know it if you read, watch or listen to mainstream media. Trump's amazing comeback has been buried and blacked out just like stories about Hunter Biden's laptop....

December 26th, 2021 Feast of the Holy Family St. Anne's church, Amager, Copenhagen, Denmark Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White First reading1 Samuel 1:20-22,24-28 ©This is the child I prayed for: he is made over to the Lord.Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’ When a year had gone by, the husband Elkanah went up again with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfil his vow. Hannah, however, did not go up, having said to her husband, ‘Not before the...

“The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple” (Luke 2:22-40) Yesterday was Christmas, and now we’re into the days after Christmas. For us, these days mean eating leftovers, returning gifts that don’t fit, and taking down the decorations. But what about for Jesus? What did the days after his birth mean for him? Our text is one the few places we have an account of what happened during that time. It’s the story of what happened forty days after his birth, when “The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple.” Actually, the first event after Christmas we have is found...

Deputy State Fire Marshals arrested a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania man early Christmas Eve after setting multiple Christmas wreaths on fire at a local Hagerstown cemetery. Peter J. Custer, 43, is charged with Second Degree Malicious Burning, Malicious Destruction of Property Under $1,000, and Trespassing on Private Property. Witnesses called 911 just after 1:00 a.m., after driving by Cedar Lawn Memorial Park in Hagerstown and saw Custer standing by a fire. Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Office of the State Fire Marshal responded and concluded that Custer took plastic wreaths from three or more burial plots, placed them on an access...

This is a personal posting of a Christmas piece recorded by the choir I used to sing in. Unfortunately, the choir is now defunct, courtesy of tyrannical CCP-Coronavirus rules. A not neccessarily well known hymn, the words are quite profound and moving. It is based upon Isaiah 9:1-7 and Luke 2:1-16 and was written by Jaroslav J. Vajda.

SAVANNAH, GA—After exhausting all options to fulfill their children’s Christmas wish lists and coming up short, Leonard and Mildred Fuller have admitted defeat. “The shelves are empty and shipping is backed up. Looks like we might have to just celebrate God coming to earth to save our souls. Brutal!" Instead of brief dopamine hits from presents, the Fuller family will reportedly go to church with some friends, which is expected to be super lame. “A Christmas service will be fine and all but - can you play Zelda there? No. But I drove to literally 17 stores looking for a...

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden did not go to church on Christmas, choosing instead to view Mass virtually from the White House. The White House did not explain why the Bidens skipped Church for Christmas, as the president typically attends Catholic Mass regularly.