December is the Month of the Divine Infancy & the Immaculate Conception

How exciting!  We enter a new Liturgical Year, the Season of Advent and the traditional Cycle of Christmas, when we meditate upon the Mystery of the Incarnation.  Unlike our cultural norms of indulgence and attending party after party, we who devoutly observe Advent, know this is a time of preparation and waiting.  We do not celebrate until Christ is born.  Until then, we make ourselves ready by performing penance and good deeds.  Joy is always greater when there has been some discipline preceding the event.

We commemorate the Divine Infancy this month as we prepare to celebrate Our Blessed Lord’s Nativity.  As well, we honor Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States of America.  With all the need presently in this country, let us flee to her in prayer, beseeching many graces.  The feast of the Immaculate Conception remains on December 8th in the trad calendar.  In the new, it has been transferred to the 9th and is a Holy Day of Obligation. 

Where can you get a good 2025 liturgical calendar?  At Nomen Christi Apostolate, we represent unity between traditional Catholics and those who attend the Novus Ordo.  Therefore we look at both calendars and when composing these monthly reviews, refer to both.  Admittedly, this can be confusing.  We recommend you choose the calendar you prefer and have it in your home to advise you of feasts each month…or hang both calendars!  Many parishes distribute calendars for free.  As for a trad calendar, here's a good one, which will also support the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter:

Fraternity Publications 2025 Liturgical Calendar

Let us remember the Ember Days of Advent on the 18th, 20th and 21st.  This is great time to do Christmas crafts with children, incorporating winter themes.  Encouraging children to perform acts of charity on these days would also be in keeping with the penitential character of the Ember Days, along with Advent.

A most Blessed Christmas and Christmas Season to all!

SAINT ANDREW CHRISTMAS PRAYER

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment
in which the Son of God was born
of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.
In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires
through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ,
and of His blessed Mother.

Amen.

It is Advent! And....December is the Month of the Divine Infancy

As of this past Sunday, in both the old and new calendars, the Season of Advent has commenced!  Wishes to all for a holy and blessed Advent which draws you closer to the Christ Child!  (Please see prayer on Home page.)  Lent is a time when we practice sacrifices of self-denial.  Perhaps during Advent, our sacrifices may be ones of charity-almsgiving and good works.  We may consider volunteer work, cleaning out the old clothes in our closets and giving them to the poor, visiting a homebound neighbor down the block, etc.  Admittedly, Christmastime is often a time of stress and feeling like we have too much to do.  But if the very celebration of the Birth of Christ prevents us from exercising charity...then something is wrong.  We all need to downscale.  Also...spiritual reading, the rosary and learning Christmas hymns....children should learn the words to our beautiful hymns and they will likely remember them for a lifetime!

As for the liturgical calendar of December, it is unique in several ways.  Aside from the great feast of Christmas, we also have the Marian feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, along with the feast of the Holy Family.  We have the Sundays of Advent when we light the pink and purple candles and the Ember Days of Advent, when we beseech God's mercy and blessings for the coming season of winter.  We have several feasts of the time of Our Lord and the time of the Old Testament....5 Doctors of the Church and December 13th, devoted to 2 saints invoked for blindness!  Here's our sampling....

12/3-Saint Francis Xavier, Priest-patron of missions

12/4-Saint John Damascene, Priest, Doctor/Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Doctor/Saint Barbara, Virgin, Martyr-invoked against lightning

12/6-Saint Nicholas, Bishop-patron of children, bakers, pawnbrokers, mariners & Russia

12/7-Saint Ambrose, Bishop, Doctor-patron of candlemakers/Vigil of the Immaculate Conception-trad meat at one meal

12/8-Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of the United States of America-Holy Day of Obligation

12/9-Saint Juan Diego, Seer of Our Lady of Guadalupe

12/11-Gaudete Sunday, 3rd Sunday of Advent-a day to remember the joy of our coming Savior!

12/12-Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas

12/13-Saint Lucy, Virgin, Martyr-patron of the blind/Saint Odilia, Virgin-invoked against blindness (non-standard)

12/14-Ember Wednesday in Advent-trad meat at one meal/Saint John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor

12/16-Ember Friday in Advent/Saints Ananias, Azarius & Misael, Companions of Patriarch Daniel (non-standard)

12/17-Ember Saturday in Advent-trad meat at one meal/Saint Lazarus, Friend of Our Lord, Brother of Saints Martha & Mary-raised from the dead by Christ (non-standard)

12/20-Saints Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, Patriarchs (non-standard)

12/21-Saint Thomas the Apostle, Martyr-Apostle of India, baptized the Magi/Saint Peter Canisius, Priest, Doctor

12/24-Saints Adam & Eve (non-standard)/Vigil of Christmas-trad meat at one meal

12/25-The Birth of Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, Christmas

12/26-Saint Stephen, First Martyr-patron of stonemasons, due to the fact that he was stoned to death

12/27-Saint John the Evangelist, Apostle-Writer of Holy Scripture, patron of theologians & Asia Minor

12/28-Holy Innocents, Martyrs under King Herod the Great, re-builder of the Holy Temple

12/29-Saint David the King, Patriarch (non-standard)

12/30-The Holy Family

(this blog provides both old & new feasts)