“What will this child be?” –Luke 1:66 St. Augustine noted that we celebrate John the Baptizer’s birthday after the summer equinox, when daylight begins to lessen in the northern hemisphere, and we celebrate Jesus’ birthday after the winter equinox, when daylight begins to increase. St. Augustine connected this with John’s statement regarding Jesus: “He must increase, while I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). Today, may there be more of Jesus in your life and less of you. May you continue this pattern each day until you can truthfully say: “It is no longer I that live but Christ Who lives within...

“Out of My sight, you evildoers!” –Matthew 7:23 How bad can things get? We could unconditionally surrender to the enemy and be led captive into exile (2 Kgs 24:12). The treasures of our faith could be carried off, and we could witness horrific sacrileges (see 2 Kgs 24:13). We could be brought so “very low” (Ps 79:8) that “there is no one to bury” the dead (Ps 79:3). Consequently, the corpses of God’s servants became “food to the birds of heaven” and “to the beasts of the earth” (Ps 79:2). Just imagine a dog or a rat chewing on your...