The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "From all eternity God chose with infinite wisdom the woman who would be the Mother of His divine Son. To prepare for the Word Incarnate a spotless and holy tabernacle, God created Mary in grace and endowed her from the moment of her conception with all the perfections suited to her exalted dignity. St. Thomas teaches that through her intimacy with Christ, the principle of grace, she possessed beyond all creatures a fullness of divine life." 

This feast invites us to meditate on the virtue of purity. "Mary alone — 'our tainted nature's solitary boast'— never saw her soul's purity darkened with the dust of any stain, nor did she see in any part of her triumphal course toward heaven any sin or trace of worldliness. By a unique and singular privilege from God she was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception; by another privilege derived from the first, the Lord did not permit her ever to be stained even with those unavoidable failings of human weakness."

V. O Emmanuel, Savior of Israel, you are God’s Son among us:
R. Come and save us, O Lord our God.

V. O Wisdom of the Most High God, you rule with gentle might:
R. Come and teach us the way of prudence.

V. O Lord of Israel, you gave us the Law on Sinai:
R. Come with your power to redeem us.

V. O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you are the sign of our salvation:
R. Come and deliver us; do not delay.

V. O Key of David, you open and close by your power:
R. Come and free us from sin and death.

V. O Daystar, you are the eternal light, the sun of justice:
R. Come and cheer us; dispel the darkness.

V. O Desired One of the nations, you are the King of peace:
R. Come and make us one.

The Future of the Very Young

That every country take the measures necessary to prioritize the future of the very young, especially those who are suffering.

December was the last month of the old Roman year which was divided into ten months.  The Saxons called it “winter-monath” or winter month, and “heligh-monat” or holy month, from the fact that Christmas fell within it.  The 22nd of December is the date of the winter solstice, when the sun reaches the tropic of Capricorn.

December 25: Christmas Day
December 29: St. Thomas’ Day
December 31: New Year’s Eve

Mottoes:

Bounce buckram velvets dear,
Christmas comes but once a year,
When it comes it brings good cheer,
And when it’s gone, it’s never near.

In December keep yourself warm and sleep.

A green Yule, makes a fat kirk-yard.