This year has been an important one for the Church. For example, Pope Benedict XVI was extraordinarily active over the last 12 months (Kevin Clarke/Zenit.org/Catholic.net): Five foreign trips, including a ground breaking one to England to beatify Cardinal Newman (Fr. Richard J. Shiefen/CatholicInsight.com), the Year of the Priest and the canonization of several saints (NewsAhead.com) were only a few of the visible accomplishments. He continues to right the direction of the Church, speak out against evil, and rejuvenate the flock. 

Year-ends allow us to reflect and ponder, and look forward with renewed vigor. It’s good for all of us to take some time off and recharge and renew. Whether you are one to make resolutions or not, it is important to refocus and approach our lives with a new vigor. That includes our spiritual lives, which requires consistent introspection.

From Brother John, myself and the team at RealCatholicBlog and RealCatholic.com, our online Catholic book an merchandise store, have a blessed, safe, healthy, prosperous and joyful New Year. Until we return shortly after the New Year, we leave you with this commentary on the meaning of the Christmas season and how to act upon it: The Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God Among Us. It is important that not only do we renew ourselves through Mass and the sacraments this New Year, but to bring others with us. We are called to God’s Grace but also, as Jesus tells us, to be a reflection of Him and win souls to him for their salvation.

Please view this video from Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com (no connection), who is at his most eloquent:

Cooperate with His Grace To be restored to the heights of Heavenly Communion with our infant savior  . . . is the quintessential gift. …

The Top 10 reasons for hope are . . . and none of them have to do with social justice.

If you want to help distribute this prayer to a wider audience, please share this link to your e-mail lists and on your social media sites. You also can order the prayer cards for bulletin insertion or of ways of distribution by clicking here. 

God of Life,

We rejoice in the promise of your coming.

You have sent your Son, born in Bethlehem.

He is the Prince of Peace, and

The one in whose name all oppression shall cease.

May we welcome his coming each day

And prepare for his coming at the end of time.

May we build a culture that welcomes him

By welcoming every child, born and unborn.

We pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

You, me, our families, our neighbors, our co-workers, friends and people from all walks of life: We are the Catholic vote. Together, we can protect life at all stages from the culture of death.

Not the change you expected? Don’t gamble away your vote Tuesday.

Dear Catholic Voter:

Our radio ads are running everywhere.

In Nevada, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin and Illinois . . . voters are hearing from you.

In the race to replace retiring Rep. Bart Stupak with pro-life doctor Dan Benishek, Michigan voters are hearing from us.

In the hotly contested Nevada Senate race to defeat Harry Reid, voters are hearing from CatholicVote.org;

In Virginia, where pro-life candidate Robert Hurt is running to defeat the founder of the left-wing group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good — voters are hearing from us;

In Illinois and Wisconsin, we are running more ads to help elect pro-life candidates Sean Duffy (WI) and Bobby Schilling (IL) in two of the most watched races in the country.

Together we made the decision to get involved in supporting specific candidates. Helping educate our fellow Catholics is important, but we chose to go further. We want to elect the candidates best positioned to help us renew our country and our culture.

That’s why we’re on the air all week urging voters to make the difference on Election Day.

Click here to see the rest of the update. An observation: CatholicVote.org’s endorsement page (see here) doesn’t mention Robert Hurt, even though the Virginian rated a mention in Mr. Burch’s letter. However, it does endorse another Virginian, Keith Fimian, in Virginia’s 11th Congressional district. Perhaps CV runs ads against pro-abortion incumbents while running ads in favor of candidates it endorses?

In any event, CatholicVote.org is working hard to “uphold the rightful duty and responsibility as Catholic laity to apply the teachings of the Church in public life.” One way it does this is producing widely acclaimed videos. The following posts will feature two of its latest. Catholic voters have a duty to exercise their citizenship responsibility (see John Mallon at CV’s blog). According to a new New York Times/CBS poll, they are, indeed, beginning to do exactly that (see Joshua Mercer at CV’s blog and Thomas Peters at American Papist).

I am deeply humbled and honored by the announcement that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI intends to name me to the College of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church at the Consistory which he has convoked for this coming November 20th. Having received the news of the Holy Father’s intention, I express my deepest gratitude to His Holiness for the great confidence which he has placed in me, and I renew my commitment to serve Him, as Shepherd of the universal Church, in total fidelity and with all my being.

Pope Benedict appointed 24 cardinals in all, 20 of whom are under 80 years of age. Only those under 80 can participate in a papal conclave. The other American is Archbishop Donald Wuerl, of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. Extensive comments by both Americans can be found at the Catholic News Agency.

Here’s his invitation:

Friends,

The October Freedom Ride will call for freedom from the oppression of unjust laws and policies. Taking place just a few weeks before our national elections, the Freedom Ride will call in a non-partisan way for citizens to take an active and informed part in the elections and advance the culture of life in the voting booth. On these upcoming webcasts, you will receive ideas and inspiration to do that.

Click here to hear the replay of our first webcast that took place on September 7 with our special guests, Deal Hudson, Dr. Alveda King and David Bereit.

Priests for Life has formed a “Vote Pro-life” Coalition of national ministries. These groups work together to advance non-partisan activities to help the People of Life to engage the electoral process in an informed and responsible way.

The Coalition sponsors these webcasts that can be followed online or by phone, and that offer training for effective political action. …

I hope you will plan to join me and my expert panelists.

Thank you,

Fr. Frank Pavone

Secularism is at the heart of Benedict’s concerns. By this the Pope does not mean the delimitation of Church and State, the sacred and profane — which is intrinsic to Christian culture as well as political society since the Reformation — but the amnesiac eradication of one of the principal roots of Western civilisation and the deliberate marginalisation of all religion to the private sphere. In its stead has come a society that thinks its existential despairs can be ameliorated by limitless consumer goods, or worse, by a state that racks up fathomless amounts of debt so as to throw money at problems that may have no material resolution.

Clink the link above and read the entir piece. Then let us know what you think.

Not only is Great Britain the country where so much damage was done to Christianity in centuries long past, its unfortunate cultural and moral decay has influenced Western and, specifically, English speaking countries. It bares it share of responsibility for the this era’s moral and cultural decline. Pope Benedict’s visit was a bucket of cold water across the faces of the purveyors of coarse culture and moral relativisim — the thousands of ignorant as well as purposeful protestors who fruitlessly demonstrated during his time there.

If he made them uncomfortable, good. Their anger, then, was less about the Pope than  against their self-installed dictatorship of relativism, an intangible tyrant that tortures their souls. It’s a pain the unfaithful find sufferable in order to experience a false sense of freedom and pleasure, despite the harm to their spiritual health.

Pope Benedict addressed this. He spoke politely, but emphatically — or, as Michael Voris puts it, he was cheeky, giving the Brits more than enough to reflect on.

Oh, Henry! The cheeky pope had a historic and successful mission in the land of Henry VIII .