LAST MINUTE DECORATING?

Jesus tree topper from Ship of Fools




Nativity rubber duckies also from Ship of Fools

Thanks to Cathy for the links.

CHRISTMAS DRAGON

What's that supposed to be? I said.
That's a Christmas dragon, he said. If
Santa rode around with this instead of
all those reindeer I think it'd put real
teeth in the naughty-or-nice thing.

Love it, love it, love it.

From StoryPeople.

THE TREE OF JESSE

Jan Mostaert - "The Tree of Jesse" - 1485 - Oil on panel

Out of the old man's abdomen grows a strange tree. Sitting on the branches, which seem to reach up to heaven, are colourfully clothed men. At the top of the tree, the very crown, is the Virgin Mary with her child on her lap and surrounded by angels. The old man is Jesse, ancestor of the royal house which traditionally produced the likes of Solomon, David and Christ. Sitting on the branches of the tree are Jesse's descendants. Artists usually depicted the Jesse tree schematically: a trunk with branches depicting the ancestors of Jesus. Jan Mostaert's approach was different. He turned Jesus' family tree into a real tree, in a monastic garden.

Now Lapin tells me. Better late than never.

That can't be comfortable.

Click on the picture for the larger view.

From the RijksMuseum.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY

From Dora (aka Rudo):

Thanks for your prayers. My dad continues to be in need of prayer because he had another stroke on Wednesday. He is now in hospital and his blood pressure continues to be high. Pray that he gets the new medication soon and that he responds well to it.
Thanks,
Dora


O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Dora's dad the help of your power, that his sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

AWWW...

From Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin:

Via Sen. Harry Reid’s Twitter feed: “Five months after I promised to repeal #DADT, I’m so happy to give back this West Point ring to [Lt. Dan Choi] @ltdanchoi.”

UPDATE Lt. Dan Choi:

The next time I get a ring from a man, I expect it to be for full, equal, American marriage.

RAIN OR SNOW?

A Russian couple were walking down the street in Moscow one night, when the man felt a drop hit his nose. "I think it's raining," he said to his wife.

She felt a drop also. "No, that felt more like snow to me," she replied.

"No, I'm sure it was just rain," he said.

Well, as these things go, they were about to have a major argument about whether it was raining or snowing. Just then they saw their local Communist Party official walking toward them. "Let's not fight about it," the man said, "Let's ask Comrade Rudolph whether it's officially raining or snowing".

As the official approached, the man asked, "Please tell us, Comrade Rudolph, is it officially raining or snowing?"

"Da; it's raining, of course," he replied, and walked on.

But the woman insisted: "I know that felt just like snow!" to which the man quietly replied:

"Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear".

Don't blame me. Blame Paul (A.).

I leave it to you, my readers, to decide what Paul (A.)'s punishment should be, because, as I see it, a simple dismissal from the stage is far too lenient.

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING FOR DAVID

From Ann, whose son-in-law David, had surgery to remove a thyroid tumor. We asked for prayers for him here.

The good news from David:

Just talked to the surgeon-- benign--
no more surgery needed

Thanks be to God, the medical staff, and all who prayed. What a lovely Christmas gift!

OBAMA SIGNS REPEAL OF DADT INTO LAW

From the Advocate:

In front of several hundred LGBT advocates, President Barack Obama Wednesday signed legislation that will allow the military to lift the 17-year-old ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military. The president said the achievement marked a turning point for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocates across the nation.

“We are not a nation that says ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ We are a nation that says ‘out of many we are one,’” Obama said from the stage, where he was accompanied by Adm. Mike Mullen, Zoe Dunning, Eric Alva, House speaker Nancy Pelosi and majority leader Steny Hoyer, Rep. Patrick Murphy, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, and senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins. Collins joined the group late and was met with enthusiastic applause, and Murphy received a extended standing ovation when Obama called out his name from the stage.

The repeal of DADT is a major victory for justice and fairness. The time for ending the discriminatory and unworkable policy was long past, but perhaps, we would not have arrived at the repeal of the policy today, had the years since Clinton set the policy in 1993 proved that DADT was unworkable.

I will never forget that a number of gay Arabic languages specialists were discharged under DADT around the time we went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Brilliant! Read the New York Times to see what the DADT policy cost the US military, just in the area of Arab language specialists. And that's not to mention the valuable personnel in other service specialties.

Obama and the Congress can take victory laps for the repeal of DADT and for what appear to be sufficient votes to ratify the nuclear treaty with Russia. Thanks due to the Democratic leaders in the US Senate and House for keeping the Congress in session until their work was done and their goals accomplished.

O REX GENTIUM

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford.

December 22

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof!
O Corner-stone, that makest of two one,
come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

Isaiah 9:7

His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onwards and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 2:4

He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

Text from Fish Eaters.

A LITTLE JEWISH HUMOR

 

 

Jewish Olympic swimmer

 

 

The woodpecker may have to go!

Don't blame me. Blame merry Suzanne.