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Who was the real Santa Claus?

...seeking a faith-based approach to share with your kids this season, consider telling them about Saint Nicholas. He was a real historical figure known for his wonder-working acts and deep compassion. By sharing his story, we also remember the Father of Lights, who gave us His perfect gift from above—His Son, Jesus Christ (James 1:17; Matt. 2:1-3, 9-11). Merry Christmas everyone!   Further Reading/Sources: The Book of Saints: Amazon.co.uk: Hoagland, Victor: 9780882711294: Books Let’s Stop Celebrating St. Nicholas Punching Arius| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com) Bishop Nicholas Loses His Cool ::: St. Nicholas Center (stnicholascenter.org)...

The Mystery Of Epiphany And The Star Of Bethlehem

...rimage of faith. Like them, we are invited to seek Christ, to bow in worship, and to offer Him our treasures: our hearts, our lives, our devotion, as “living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1). Jesus, the True Star As we celebrate Epiphany, let us remember that the ultimate revelation is not in the heavens but in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the fulfilment of God’s promise, the King who brings hope, peace, and salvation to all who follow Him. Whether we gaze at the stars or reflect on the scriptures, may we be drawn to worship the King of Kings, born in humility yet reigning in glory. This is the message of Epiphany: the Light has come, and the nations are dr...

On the Feast of the Nativity, a sermon by Leo the Great

...implicit faith is confirmed also by the attestation of a precursory miracle, and Elizabeth receives unexpected fertility: in order that there might be no doubt that He who had given conception to the barren, would give it even to a virgin. II. The mystery of the Incarnation is a fitting theme for joy both to angels and to men Therefore the Word of God, Himself God, the Son of God who in the beginning was with God, through whom all things were made and without whom was nothing made (John 1:1-3), with the purpose of delivering man from eternal death, became man: so bending Himself to take on Him our humility without decrease in His own majesty, that remaining w...

Lent, Lament and Lockdown

...dn't lose faith.   The Bible isn't a stranger to times of lament and distress, and we see it often in the Psalms. At times like this of limited food and resources and job loss, we can probably relate to David when he wrote things like this: Psalms 86:1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Psalms 102:1-2 Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. And such poetic sadness from the book dedicated to lament; Lamentations 3:16-18 He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower i...

Doubting Defying Jihad: Questioning the Popular Conversion Story

...inst your faith and beliefs…”, it’s the kind of thing that we might expect a liberal in the west to say, but not a Pakistani believer who knows that Islam denies that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for sinners. Following her conversion according to her account, she engaged in a number of public debates with clerics in which she defended her decision to leave Islam and follow Christ. It is not uncommon for apostates to have meetings with scholars arranged by their family members in the hope that they might be won back to Islam, but it is very surprising that her influential father would want to give his apostate daughter such a platform to speak...

Nails, Theses, and Myth: The Truth About Luther's Famous Door

...e rule of faith. As theologian Michael Reeves rightly points out, “If the ninety-five theses were meant to be a Reformation manifesto, they were a pretty poor effort.” Rather than launching Protestantism, the Theses mark the beginning of a debate — one that would take Luther, and the Church, in directions neither could have foreseen. And Luther was not alone. Before him, men like Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, Bernard of Clairvaux, Anselm of Canterbury, and Thomas Aquinas had all called for reform from within the Church. The Reformation began as an internal movement of conscience, not a declaration of war. Conclusion: History Over Hype As we reflect on th...