{"id":1395983,"date":"2018-12-25T10:16:42","date_gmt":"2018-12-25T16:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=1395983"},"modified":"2018-12-25T10:28:08","modified_gmt":"2018-12-25T16:28:08","slug":"a-small-christmas-poem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/a-small-christmas-poem\/","title":{"rendered":"A &#8220;Small&#8221; Christmas Poem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG_3575.jpg?fit=550%2C550\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396106\"\/><figcaption>On instagram @rachelisag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Merry Christmas dear readers! May you be drawn this Christmas into the humility and smallness of the Christ Child &#8211; for our world is hungry for hearts that are uncomplicated and open, humble and warm. Let us make a home for others in our hearts this Christmas, through the grace of smallness that the God-Made-Man brings to each of us on this blessed day. In the words of our former Holy Father:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>God\u2019s sign is simplicity. God\u2019s sign is the baby. God\u2019s sign is that he makes himself small for us.<\/strong> This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendour. He comes as a baby \u2013 defenceless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing other from us than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will \u2013 we learn to live with him and to practise with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. God made himself small so that we could understand him, welcome him, and love him&nbsp;(&#8230;More <a href=\"http:\/\/w2.vatican.va\/content\/benedict-xvi\/en\/homilies\/2006\/documents\/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20061224_christmas.html\">here<\/a>).<\/p><cite>Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Midnight Mass 2006<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Small Christmas Poem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.04.21-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396068\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.04.26-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396069\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.04.33-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396070\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.04.39-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396071\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.04.45-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396072\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.05.13-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396074\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.05.06-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396075\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-25-at-10.05.18-AM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396077\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A very merry Christmas to you and yours! God bless!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG_3574.jpg?fit=550%2C550\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1396078\"\/><figcaption>On instagram @rachelelisag, Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Schoenstatt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merry Christmas dear readers! May you be drawn this Christmas into the humility and smallness of the Christ Child &#8211; for our world is hungry for hearts that are uncomplicated and open, humble and warm. Let us make a home for others in our hearts this Christmas, through the grace of smallness that the God-Made-Man&#8230;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/a-small-christmas-poem\/\">[Read&nbsp;More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1395983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":342102,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/lessons-from-the-crib\/","url_meta":{"origin":1395983,"position":0},"title":"Lessons from the Crib","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"December 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many saints have experienced the love and wisdom that comes from the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus, but none more than St. Faustina who had many, many visits from the Divine Infant. \u00a0 One Christmas season the Blessed Mother brought the Baby Jesus to St. Faustina and said,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Column&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Botticelli_Nativity-270x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1372544,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/an-advent-interview-with-st-therese-of-the-child-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":1395983,"position":1},"title":"An Advent Interview with St. Therese of the Child Jesus","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"December 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u201cThe Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty. You shall see his glory within you.\u201d- Liturgy of the Hours We are sitting in my living room, reflecting silently together in the glow of the blinking lights of the Christmas tree. It looks particularly lovely in the dark. It\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":186756,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/sunrise-dark-faith-advent-brightness-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":1395983,"position":2},"title":"Sunrise: through the dark faith of Advent to the brightness of Christmas","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"December 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Traveling through Advent with grief this year has led to me to soul search about what Christmas is, and, in the process, to notice similarities between the journey of Advent into Christmas and the stages of the soul's progression into the heart of God. \u00a0According to Carmelite spirituality, \u00a0the soul\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo by Renee Bork","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/12016594_10205918857824426_849206572_n-550x413.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/12016594_10205918857824426_849206572_n-550x413.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/12016594_10205918857824426_849206572_n-550x413.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":192082,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/home-holidays-reflection-octave-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":1395983,"position":3},"title":"Home for the Holidays: a reflection on the Octave of Christmas","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"December 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I know you might feel a little wilted, Reader, after all the Christmas presents and family and food (and sugar, etc.) I do too. I kind of like it though. The Octave of Christmas is a peaceful time. I deeply enjoyed Christmas Eve with my daughters and our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_1341","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_1341-e1451253686837-127x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":188350,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/5-ways-to-celebrate-a-christmas-of-mercy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1395983,"position":4},"title":"5 Ways to Celebrate a Christmas of Mercy","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"December 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m always amazed at the way most people in society are able to recognize the beauty of the celebration of Christmas, regardless of their religious perspectives. People are more open to discussions of morality and even of God. It seems appropriate for the season. This Christmas is unique among our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ChristmasofMercy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ChristmasofMercy-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ChristmasofMercy-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ChristmasofMercy-550x275.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":341536,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/tis-humility\/","url_meta":{"origin":1395983,"position":5},"title":"Tis Humility","author":"Rachel","date":"December 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A remark during the homily at midnight mass really struck me. The priest reflected how each Christmas is different, not because the Gospel story changes -indeed the story is everlasting - but because\u00a0we come\u00a0to Christmas each year a little bit different. Each year we bring with us the lived experiences\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_2417-550x550.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_2417-550x550.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_2417-550x550.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1395983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1395983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1395983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1395983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1395983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1395983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}