As Christmas approaches, let's celebrate the gift God gave to us

   2020 has been a crazy year.  With a woke Pope (no offense to Pope Francis, but PLEASE find out what BLM supports), an election whose results we're not supposed to question (because making sure an election is fair is a threat to DEMOCRACY, you see, just ask the people that believe in SCIENCE, because, you know, it's not like scientists ever change their mind, it's not like they ever believed in social darwinism or anything).  It's not all bad.  We've seen some of the world's fastest medical work, and the death rates of COVID 19, don't seem to be as bad.  Our economy (at least here in the United States) actually got a boost from the vaccines (not, contrary to popular belief, a Biden "win", economics doesn't work that way).  But, y'all know something?  I even went to the cinema (for more on that, see here Faith, Fatalism, and Spies: The Tenet Review)No matter what crazy policies politicians support (contrary to the protestations of a certain "reporter", that seems not to know the meaning of the word "politician"), we always have Jesus.  

And this is especially important, because we are called to a relationship with Jesus(which is, as I have stated before, a RELIGION,  Don't call yourself a Christian if you have a problem with the word "religion")

 Jesus calls his followers "friend", John 15:13-14, Jesus is our brother (not in a Mormon way, but follow the logic, God is our Father, via our Baptism, Jesus is the Son of God, this would make Jesus our brother), these are things that require a relationship.  

For Catholics and Orthodox, we receive Jesus, physically, in the Most Holy Eucharist, which is, WHO is, the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:23-32) .

    In fact, one of the titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is "Mother of the Eucharist".  Because she is.  She herself is like a tabernacle, in the sense that the presence of God dwelt in her.

    I feel like this is what Protestants are missing out on.  It's not that they don't have that idea (Lutherans do, to at least some extent), but, because many have this either/or idea when it comes to religion.  Either tradition or scripture (not both, for some reason, even though scripture IS a tradition), either Mary is the Mother of Jesus or the Mother of God (Luther himself really did not have a problem calling the Virgin Mary the Mother of God).

    Mary is the Mother of God, BECAUSE she is the mother of Christ.  The Eucharist really is the body and blood of Christ, because Jesus said so.  Now, there's too much to get in here, but, for more on sacraments, see here, PART TWO THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY SECTION TWO THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH CHAPTER ONE THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION 

And also, here, PART TWO THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY SECTION TWO THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

    Y'all, what I am not saying is that Protestants don't have a relationship with Jesus, I would not make that claim.  What I am saying, is that it's hard for me to understand a Jesus, that you can accept into your heart, but can't receive physically.

    Happy Advent, y'all.  

    Come, O Come, Emmanuel.