Could Santa Claus be a subtle, clever attack on our children to confuse, doubt and rob their God-ordained "child like" faith? Satan knows, if he can somehow get that child through those fruitful early years without trusting the Lord Jesus Christ – his goal of eternal damnation in hell increases substantially.

Where did Santa Claus come from?   The oft-repeated tale of Santa Claus goes like this:

According to the legend, Santa began as a fourth century Catholic bishop named Saint Nicholas. The cult of St. Nicholas was one of histories most widespread religious movements. According to St. Nicholas historian, Charles W. Jones, ". . . the cult of St. Nicholas was, before the Reformation, the most intensive of any nonbiblical saint in Christendom. . . there were 2,137 ecclesiastical dedications [churches] to Nicholas in France, Germany, and the Low Countries alone before the year 1500." (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p.357)

The popular book, The Christmas Almanack, states, "By the height of the Middle Ages, St. Nicholas was probably invoked in prayer more than any other figure except the Virgin Mary and Christ Himself" (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 131)

Miraculous folklore and legend surround the mysterious St. Nicholas. Among the more popular legends of St. Nicholas is the rescue of three poverty-stricken girls destined for prostitution. These girls were poor and did not have the dowry for marriage. St. Nicholas saved them from a life of shame, by providing marriage dowries of gold. They then were able to get properly married.

Another amazing miracle in the life of St. Nicholas is the three young boys who were sadistically murdered by a wicked innkeeper. Their bodies were chopped up and preserved in pickle barrels, with the cannibalistic intent of feeding their flesh to unsuspecting house guests. Of course, the amazing St. Nicholas resurrected the boys and their mutilated bodies. And like Santa, Saint Nicholas gave gifts to poor children, hence, his veneration as Patron Saint of Children. During the Middle Ages, hundreds of plays and paintings told and re-told the amazing feats of St. Nicholas.

Next, according to legend, Santa magically appears in the Netherlands around the seventeenth century. During this time, Sinter Klaas (a.k.a. Santa Claus) was officially born. Dutch children began the tradition of placing their shoes by the fireplace on December 5, for the mystic fourth century Bishop, Saint Nicholas. (Note: In the Dutch language Saint Nicholas is "Sint Nikolass," which was shortened to "Sinter Klaas," of which the anglicized form is "Santa Claus.") The next morning, the gleeful Dutch children quickly awoke to gifts and goodies in their shoes, left by Sinter Klaas. Like today’s Santa, Sinter Klaas, miraculously, traveled from housetop to housetop, and entered through the chimney.

Our next stop on the Santa highway is the year 1626 in the New World called America. Searching for the "American dream," Dutch settlers sailed from the Netherlands and established the Dutch colony called New Amsterdam (today called New York). The Dutch colonists quickly settled into America, bringing their customs, and of course, their beloved Sinter Klaas.

In December 1809, American essayist Washington Irving published a popular satire of the Dutch founding of New York titled A Knickerbocker History of New York. More than any other event, it was Irving’s Knickerbocker History that is credited for creating our modern day Santa Claus. The following history-making words from The Knickerbocker History became the public inauguration of Santa Claus. Who could have possibly imagined the significance these simple words would soon have?

And the sage Oloffe dreamed a dream,–and lo, the good St. Nicholas came riding over the tops of the trees, in that self-same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to the children. . . And when St. Nicholas had smoked his pipe, he twisted it in his hatband, and laying his finger beside his nose, gave the astonished Van Kortlandt a very significant look; then, mounting his wagon, he returned over the treetops and disappeared. (Irving, Washington. Knickerbocker’s History of New York, New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928, p. 50)

At this early period was instituted that pious ceremony, still religiously observed in all our ancient families of the right breed, of hanging up a stocking in the chimney on St. Nicholas Eve; which stocking is always found in the morning miraculously filled; for the good St. Nicholas has ever been a great giver of gifts, particularly to children. (Irving, Washington. Knickerbocker’s History of New York, New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928, p. 68)

Next stop on our investigative journey for Santa, surprisingly, comes from the pen of a New York theology professor named Dr. Clement Clarke Moore. In 1822, inspired by Irving’s popular, Knickerbocker History’s portrayal of jolly St. Nicholas, Dr. Moore quietly wrote a trivial poem titled, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" for his own children as a simple Christmas present. Dr. Moore had no intention of publishing his poem, but in 1823 it was published anonymously, by a friend, in the Troy Sentinel. Moore’s extremely popular poem was the spark that lit the Santa Claus wildfire. Santa quickly began flying through America. Dr. Moore’s poem was later renamed the famous, "Twas’ The Night Before Christmas."

The finishing touches for Santa occurred around 1863 from the artistic hands of cartoonist Thomas Nast. Inspired by Moore’s popular poem, Nast illustrated scores of Santa pictures in Harper’s Weekly and the world was officially baptized with the face of Santa Claus. Nast’s early Santa was burly, stern, gnome-like, and covered with drab fur, much unlike today’s colorful and jolly fellow. But make no mistake – it was Santa.

Dr. Terry Watkins, Th.D, Dial the Truth Ministries

>.)

Rooted and Grounded in Love

By Rev. Cathian

It’s a deep plunge you take, when your diving board is attached to the pool of human history, rather than firmly planted in the soil of God’s Word.

I’ve been in a place of deep depression, and I think I have discovered why. This might not make sense to anyone but myself, but I’m going to make a stab at it.

Before I start, let me state a few things:

I became a Christian at age 14.

I joined many different denominations of Christian churches over a period of 30 years.

I was looking for some branch of the Church that could explain certain things to me in a more “scientific” fashion, based on truth rather than superstition or taboo.

I joined the Catholic Church after going through formal classes and confirmation.

I became bitter against all churches and turned away from them, and sojourned into New Age, Shamanism, Wicca and Spiritism.

My Lord called me back, and I repented for my sin.

I have spent the rest of my life seeking a deeper walk and relationship with the Lord, as I seek to serve other people.

Now, armed with a bit of my history, perhaps the rest will make sense. I’m going to narrow down this experience and try to focus on one issue.

It is important to know where you put your roots, and it is imperative to be firmly grounded in good soil.

What do I mean? I’ll give the short version, and then I’ll come back around for an explanation.

I have been doing rather poorly lately; in the area of personal suffering, I seem to have been falling apart at the seams. It has been causing me to isolate myself, to fear exposure to others, and to avoid the normal tasks of life. I would prefer to sleep, or to do something irresponsible. I am in pain, and I don’t want people to see the face that I see staring at me out of the mirror: the anger, the pain, and the shocked surprise in my expression. I want things to be beautiful, good, and peaceful. I want back my feeling that I can go through the challenge of personal suffering and not allow it to sway me or pull me down.

So where did it go? This feeling of peace and resignation that I had seems to have suddenly popped and dissipated like a soap bubble, and I am casting about for answers.

Many years ago, I did some study into the Catholic Church. I learned many things about her history, and the conduct of the priests and ecclesiastics before the Protestant Reformation. However, I knew that among her ranks, there were true Christians (followers of Christ) in the Catholic Church.

Knowing this, it was with shame and chagrin that, as a visitor in a particular Protestant denomination, I heard the most terrible diatribe against the Catholic Church and all Catholics. It was because of this wholesale condemnation that I decided I must prove for myself what was the truth of the Catholic Church. So I went through the process of joining. I was a communicating member for two years.

A couple of years ago I read several books on the life of Francis Forgione, or, Padre Pio. The Catholic Church has made him a saint. If anyone is familiar with the process of “saint-making”, it requires that miracles can be attributed to a person even after their death. I never was happy with that idea, so I simply went through my examination of Fra Pio’s life with heavy filters on. I used the Bible, the Word of God, as my filter. It worked very well. I could see that this man loved the Lord with all his heart, was persecuted by his own mother church, had some similar gifting to mine (which led me into the Catholic Church in the first place), and suffered immensely with loneliness and physical illness.

Padre Pio had many experiences with spiritual warfare, and his primary test to see if a spirit was of God was always to demand that someone could pronounce that Jesus Christ is the Lord. In the bible, we are told that this is the supreme test to see whether or not a spirit is of God. Due to his conduct and his attitude toward Christ, I believe that Padre Pio, the Capuchin friar, was a true believer who suffered greatly for his faith, and who loved the Lord with all his heart and endeavored to serve others as a result of this love.

The best book I read about Padre Pio was by C. Bernard  Ruffin: Padre Pio: The True Story. I was greatly encouraged by Padre Pio’s story. I felt I could really relate to him in certain areas. It gave me strength and courage to offer up my suffering to Christ – not as if it would do anything for anyone, but as if it would keep me accountable to God and on a straight and level pathway, since many I have either known or heard of have committed grave error and sin due to their personal suffering.

Now this will seem like a digression, but it will be seen as something that comes to bear on the subject in a moment; I have been studying Freemasonry for the past couple of years. I have traced its roots in Europe, Japan, the United States and the Middle East. I have studied it’s arcane beliefs, and the fact that it is truly a government within a government, and it is a religion even though it claims not to be. At the core of Freemasonry is the fact that it is antithetical to Catholic (or any Christian) belief, and there has been at least one papal bull against Freemasonry which made it a mortal sin to become a member.

As I followed the course of my study, I began to learn (or re-learn in some cases), about the power of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in the Catholic Church – both historically, and today. In more than one publication, I learned that no good Catholic would ever be a Freemason. Yet, as I read about the desire for world domination of all three groups – the Catholic Church, the Freemasons and the Jesuits (which have been in and out of favor with the papacy for decades) I realized they all had something in common.

I recently read an incredible exposé on the Church of Rome by a former priest named Charles Chiniquy: 50 Years in the “Church” of Rome. If ever a man loved others and endeavored to be an obedient servant, it was Mr. Chiniquy. As I read through his well-detailed account of corruption in the Catholic Church, especially with the “auricular confession”, indulgences, prayers for the souls in Purgatory, extortion and simony by the priests and other abhorrent behavior by the supposed priests of God, I realized that this was the same Church that produced my beloved Padre Pio. Truly, there were souls who were in abject poverty, sore trials, profuse suffering and indescribable loneliness. They suffered willingly, because they were taught from birth that this was the highest calling of God on a human life – to be a “religious” in the Church of God, which was, as they supposed, the Catholic Church.

In my further studies, I have read about the Black Pope, the Secret History of the Jesuits, and several exposés on Freemasons (which I have correlated with some of their own writings and public documents, including Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike). I have read several theories, which, boiled down, state that the Catholic Church is the head, and the Jesuits are the neck that turns it. I have read that Jesuits and Freemasons have, after all, merged their thinking at the higher levels. Indeed, the lines get blurred as you seek to understand the higher ranks, and it begins to look like all are merely branches off the same root system. We won’t even go into the historical factuality of the Illuminati, which seems to use the Freemasons as a front organization (along with more than a dozen offshoots with different names).

One of my pursuits is that of exposing certain cult groups that have grown up into immense denominations of pseudo-Christianity. I have learned so much about the roots of Mormonism (Latter Day Saints) and Jehovah’s Witnesses, both of which were started by either active or ex-Freemasons who borrowed heavily from their traditions to start their religions. This is actually what led me into the study of Freemasonry, and subsequently, Jesuits, and subsequently, the Catholic Church (again), and so on. One thing led to another, and I began to see a common thread: none of these “religions” or “disciplines” wants their followers to adhere to the Bible!

Yes, it’s true. The Catholic Church relies heavily on the traditions of the “Church Fathers”, and until recently the personal reading of the Bible was not only discouraged, but before the Protestant Reformation, it was an excommunicable offense!

But I knew this. And coming full circle, I realize that is why I applied such heavy filters to my reading of the Padre Pio story – because I know that sincere people can be sincerely wrong, but if their faith is truly in Jesus, then that is what matters when we are done with this life and enter into eternity.

Years ago a minister told those of us in the congregation, “Don’t put me up on a pedestal, because I’ll fall off of it.” He went on to say how others might raise him up in status as a power trip – how on a bad day they might knock him off of it just to prove they could. The message was truly: we are all brothers and sisters, and we are fighting the same fight, so we must encourage one another and not encourage favoritism or a pecking order in church.

My studies have disheartened me, and, as has happened in the past, some of my foundation has been demolished as I have sought the truth. Yet, as the dust settles, I see a truth emerging unsullied by man’s foolish and vain attempts to bring God down to his level: Jesus remains the lightning rod of humanity, and he who follows Him is wise.

I had a long talk with Mike last night, as we drove down Highway One to Port Fourchon near sunset. I explained that I had been disillusioned, once more, and that it had the surprising effect on me of causing true depression about my physical condition. I explained how my studies had shown me that the major power players of the world reject the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and how some offer the “bible AND” something else, with emphasis on that “something else” as the tie-breaker. I told him how I had looked at the life of Padre Pio as exemplary for me, and how horribly sad I was to learn of the abuses and outright blasphemy of the religion that produced him. I shared how I was left casting about for someone else to see as an example, because I needed to pin my hope on the fact that someone had gone through tremendous physical suffering and come out of it unscathed spiritually.

As I spoke, I heard that still, small voice telling me that Jesus was that one. Even Paul, and Peter, and James and John (sons of Zebedee), had faults and failings, and though they suffered for Christ, Paul summed it up best when he said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” In other words, don’t do what I say, but do as I do, and only do what you see me doing when I am truly walking in the Spirit, and not fulfilling the calling, desires and needs of my flesh.

Jesus said, “I am vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) If we are looking at the example of any other, and see not someone who is abiding in the True Vine, we are looking amiss. If we try to imitate anyone whose life is founded on anything other than the Word, we will find that we flatter that person but do ourselves harm.

Does this mean that Padre Pio was a fake? Not at all. It means that humans have faults and failings, and that we don’t always get it right, no matter how hard we try. It means that if we see someone succeeding, we should look to see whom they serve, and decide if that “someone” is worth following for ourselves. Padre Pio was a saint, but not in the Catholic sense of the word; he was a man who loved the Lord Christ and sought to serve him with his life, and whoever does this is called a saint according to the Word of God.

Finally, what does this mean for me, personally? It means that I must watch to be sure that I remain in the simplicity of the Gospel, follow the good examples, and beware of man’s religious attempts other than attempts at servanthood, so that I don’t pin my hopes or my aspirations on any man or woman. It means that there is Someone who is utterly dependable, who is utterly faithful, who suffered beyond the scope and measure of any other human, and He is the only one who has guaranteed me that if I follow Him, He will save me. It means that He is acquainted with my suffering, and there is no other who can see into my heart and know how I feel (Psalm 139). It means that we all are like sheep who have gone astray, but the Lord is our Good Shepherd. It means that if I am a branch off the True Vine, then I will be rooted and grounded in Love, and I won’t stumble if I learn something about another servant of God that disillusions me.

I’ll end by borrowing from Paul’s words to the church at Ephesus:

Ephesians 3:14-21  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (15)  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,  (16)  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  (17)  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,  (18)  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;  (19)  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.  (20)  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,  (21)  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

May we all be rooted and grounded in love.

St. Anthony Ma. Pucci

Servite Parish Priest

Feast day: January 12

        Saint Anthony Mary Pucci was born in good Christian parents at Poggiole, in the Diocese of Pistoia, Italy, in 1819; he was the second of the nine children. After youth marked by prayer and study, his devotion to Mart, the Mother of God, caused him to seek entrance in the Order of the Servants of Mary at the age of eighteen.

        He completed his novitiate at Florence and studied philosophy and theology at Monte Senario for six years, where he made also his solemn profession. In 1844, a year after his ordination to the priesthood, St. Anthony was sent to Viareggio as assistant pastor. In 1847, he was named pastor and for forty-five years, until his death. He fulfilled his responsibility with great love, giving an example of pure and fruitful life, singularly dedicated to God and to God’s people. In spite of his pastoral duties he continued his studies. He received the title of Master in Theology in 1850.

        Saint Anthony was prior of the community in Viareggio and Prior Provincial of the Tuscan Province for many years. In that time was a period of hostility between Church and civil authorities due to laws passed against religious orders and congregations. In these offices, mindful of the words of Saint Augustine, he preferred to be loved rather than feared by his brothers, and was happy to serve with love rather than exercised power.

        St. Anthony was characterized by humility of spirit, reserve in speaking, and abiding contact with God and love of poverty. He dedicated himself completely to his priestly ministry in order to lead all to Christ; he knew his parishioners individually, he showed them fatherly love, offering them the word of God and supporting them with his advice and direction. His charity to the needy knew no limits: he even went so far as to give a poor man the shirt off his back and because of this he was called father of the poor.

        He was a faithful minister of the sacrament of penance, dedicating several hours a day to his work. Of greatest importance to him was reconciling sinners to God, confronting the afflicted, forgiving those who had offended him, uniting those separated by hatred and violence, bringing peace to families, and assisting the sick and dying. His love for others was particularly visible during the cholera epidemic of 1854 – 1856, when day and night, almost without rest, he worked with the sick. God gave him many gifts, including discernment of spirits and the gift of healing. He was seen at times in ecstasy or raised from the ground in prayer. 

        St. Anthony founded a congregation of Servite sisters in his parish for the education of youth, and he directed them with particular concern. He was a pioneer in establishing parish associations for the young children, teenagers, men, and women in order to intensify the Christian life of his community. He promoted the St. Vincent de Paul Society, recently introduced into Italy from France, and the work for the Propagation of the Faith. He founded the first permanent seaside home for the care of children. In this work of the apostolate he was supported and animated by his great love for the Eucharist and Our Lady of Sorrows to whom he solemnly consecrated his parish.

        He was stricken with pneumonia on a winter’s day after he gave his coat to a poor man on the street. A few days later, January 12, 1892, having received the sacraments, he died a holy death. The entire city, including even those hostile to the Church, wept at the death of their beloved pastor.

        At the end of the first session of the Second Vatican Council, His Holiness Pope John XXIII added his name to the list of saints on December 9, 1962. The body of Saint Anthony Maria Pucci is venerated in the Basilica of Saint Andrew in Viareggio, Italy.  

Prayer to Saint Anthony Ma. Pucci, OSM

Father you called Saint Anthony,

faithful and holy Servant of Mary.

He is venerated for his holy virtue of charity and

to his fruitful pastoral work as a parish priest.

In your care, you listen

to the need of your people.

We ask you now…

(mention your intention)

May the generous intercession of

Saint Anthony, help us to love and to serve

the Lord and His Church

and through the guidance of the

Sorrowful Mother Mary.

Amen.    

Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…

If you received any miracle through the intercession of Saint Anthony, please inform/contact:

 Leonardo M. Guiang, Jr.

St. Mary of the Servants Seminary

Magallanes street, Tunasan

Muntinlupa City, 1773 Philippines

Tel.# (02) 861-30-98

E-mail: serviammaria@yahoo.com