Father Bob's Reflections

(Check this video out first!)

BE SURE TO ENTER FULL SCREEN.

Lo, how a rose e’er blooming,

From Jesse’s lineage coming,

As men of old have sung.

It came, a floweret bright,

Amid the cold of winter

When half spent was the night

Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind
With Mary we behold it,
The Virgin mother kind

To show God’s love aright,
She bore to us a Savior
When half spent was the night

The shepherds heard the story
Proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of Glory
Was born on earth this night.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.

Here’s a very unusual spontaneous video of this lovely carol

by six young men in perfect pitch on a cold winter’s night.

Dear Friends,

I have the peaceful easy feelin’ that I’ve poured  some of my love into these writings and images.

And my own heart is ready to receive the special gift Jesus wants to give me this Christmas.

And I pray so very earnestly that you receive the special gift God wishes to give you as well.

Cleanse your heart of bitterness,  of selfishness and resentments.

Put aside unnecessary things.

Ask yourself what really is the meaning of your life?

For me the answer is to love as very best I can.

I am a flawed human being.  We all are.

Sometimes I miss the mark.

(That’s what sin is ~ “Hamartia in Greek: to miss the mark.”

But we also have gifts to share.

I have a lot of love in my heart to share with whomever would like to receive.

And I have some wisdom to share arising years of suffering from the heavy cross of manic depressive disorder.

But it’s also a gift and it keeps of giving.

So, I hope you have received something nourishing and sweet in the 24 posts I have been able to create this Advent.

They are my gift to you.

Have a wonderful Christmas with your family or with a friend or two.

And if your Christmas is lonely with no one really special to share it with,

or if you are depressed or without a friend or if you are down on your luck

or don’t know where your next buck is gonna come from

or have lost a loved one at this time of year,

please know that you have someone here who understands and who reaches out to you from my heart to yours.

Be sure to open yourself to the holiness / the wholeness / the Peace of Christmas.

It is there beneath all the craziness and hype.  It is yours if you seek it and ask for it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

And now to close let’s let Handel have the last word:

Click here: GLORY TO GOD~PEACE ON EARTH~GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN!

BE SURE TO TURN UP YOUR SPEAKERS AND ENTER FOR SCREEN.  Right next to where you are in You Tube you can end your celebration with the awesome coda of the Messiah WORTHY IS THE LAMB!

HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS WITH YOUR FAMILY!

We will be will be right back after Christmas.  As you might know we Catholics extend the celebration until the feast of the Epiphany ~ January 6th.

BEFORE YOU GO, IF YOU HAVE ENJOYED THESE POSTS WOULD YOU  LEAVE A COMMENT OR A THANK OR SOMETHIN’ IN THE COMMENT BOX BELOW OR BOUNCE BACK AN EMAIL?

I WOULD GREATLY ‘PRECIATE IT FROM THE BOTTOM OF ME AROMATIC SOCKS!

With love,

Bob Traupman

Contemplative writer