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Hey everybody,
It’s two days from Christmas, and Christ is drawing near.
In our house, we’ve got gifts purchased-and-made-but-not-wrapped, we’re all in the midst of a sickness, and we’re kind of catching our breath, after the weekend demanded a four-figure car repair, and a new oven range, when the repairman quoted a fix-it cost higher than the price of a new range.
And still, Christ is drawing near.
I’ve been reflecting on a really deep conversation we published at The Pillar back in 2022, with Norway’s Bishop Erik Varden.
The bishop was asked about getting ready for Christmas, spiritually. His advice was this:
“I would recommend sitting in a chair for five minutes — 10, if you have time — every day without doing anything. Simply being still, listening to the stillness.
That is one of the great liturgical motifs of Christmas, that in the midnight silence, when everything was still, the Word came. The Word didn’t come with a huge cry. But the Word came as an infant. In Latin, ‘infans’ means ‘speechless.’ Again, that’s one of those great paradoxes that the Fathers loved: that the Word chose to be among us as someone, as any infant is, deprived of speech.
Recovering, and perhaps even discovering, that deep silence within ourselves will help to make us realize that that isn’t an emptily resonant space, but in fact, it is an inhabited space, and a space of openness, and we could almost say of hospitality, because all of us yearn for that receptivity to the Word coming among us, and coming to you and coming to me.”
If that wasn’t enough, the bishop offered insight into his own Christmas meditations:
“The reason God needed to become Man was to overcome mortality, which is the wages of sin, and so restore to humanity that opening towards eternity for which it was made, and for which it was intended. The memory of that promise of immortality remains within us, mortals, human beings, as a kind of a wound almost, a painful yearning whose promise needed to be restated and realized afresh.
So because human nature had been wounded and had ceded to mortality, the Word in whose image that nature was made needed to reinvest it, in order to reanimate that possibility of rising to eternal life.”
…
“Sometimes in Byzantine representations of the Eucharist, you will see the Host on the paten transformed into an infant. So you have a representation of Bethlehem on the paten. The altar, which liturgically represents Christ, and Calvary, and the tomb of Christ, also represents the manger. It’s something I’ve always been struck by and moved by when I incense the altar, which I have the privilege of doing, to know that what the priest is incensing there in that liturgical gesture is the entirety of the Christ Mystery: his Incarnation, his Nativity, his sacrificial death, his burial pointing towards his Resurrection.”
I don’t think I need to offer much more here. Christ is coming. Bethlehem, Calvary, the Eucharist, and the Church. He is coming.
The news
Before the news, I need to ask two favors.
First, on subscribers, we’re a bushel or so away from our year-end goal, which enables us to make The Pillar work as a project for another year.
I promised Mrs. Flynn I’d try real hard to hit that goal, and I’d like to keep my word.
So if you’ve ever thought about becoming a paying subscriber to The Pillar, perhaps today is the day:
And if you’re not sure what to get your dad, your wife, your kid, your pastor, or your diocesan bishop for Christmas, might I suggest a gift subscription to The Pillar, which comes with access to our daily news roundup Starting Seven, our complete archives, bonus podcast episodes, etc.
Think about it. That’s all I ask.
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Next, and this is more important:
Paul J. Kim is a Catholic speaker and a musician, a guy whose life is dedicated to the work of evangelization. On Sunday, he posted online that his son was having a medical emergency. He asked for prayers. By Monday he was posting that his son Micah was on life support, and that “scans are showing that his brain activity is not present.”
Micah is five. There are six children in his family. His mom and dad are asking Fulton Sheen for a miracle.
Readers, maybe we take a minute and ask Fulton Sheen to pray for this little boy. And maybe ask that Christ console his mom and dad, give them hope and peace, no matter what comes next.
I’ve watched two of my children in hospital beds, in a kind of gray space between life and death. I’ve prayed that God heal them. I know something of the pain these parents are feeling — but not all. Please pray for their family.
A major challenge for the conference is the hq building, which costs 4.4 million annually to maintain and insure, and is occupied to only 50%.
Conference leaders told me that a small portion of that $4.4 million — about $500,000 — came through federal refugee and migrant resettlement programs administered by the USCCB, funds which have now been cut by the federal government. But USCCB leaders emphasized that the challenge of keeping the building funded is bigger than that missing money.
They also emphasized that their real work now is a programmatic rethink of the offices and objectives of the bishops’ conference, and that decisions about office space will be made after that.
But this won’t be an interminable project: “We have a year to figure it out,” Archbishop James Checchio told bishops back in November.
You’ll only read it here, amigos.
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The challenge comes from Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulli, two former managers of the Institute for the Works of Religion, both of whom were convicted by Vatican courts for financial mismanagement and subsequently saw their pension payments suspended.
The two say they have a right to those pensions. Vatican courts have ultimately said no. So they filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.
The appeal is a bit strange, since the court doesn’t actually have jurisdiction over Vatican City state, but the appeal is widely seen as a way of gaining international focus on the dispute.
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But the plan has prompted some pushback among diocesan clerics, and our reporting aims to raise a real question: Is the pushback about the plan itself, or about its rollout, which critics say did not involve sufficient consultation? And will “Martin fatigue” in the Charlotte diocese impact the way that local priests and lay leaders evaluate changes and directions moving forward?
In short, after a tumultuous beginning in the Charlotte diocese, can Martin successfully make big changes right now?
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The suit was initially filed in 2022, and then refiled in early 2023, after the diocese argued successfully in court that the former parish organist should not be permitted to file the lawsuit anonymously.
The suit drew largely from Stika’s admissions to The Pillar regarding his handling of the allegations against former seminarian Wojciech Sobczuk, in which Stika explained that he removed a review board appointed investigator who was asking too many questions about the case, and that he “knew in [his] heart” that Sobczuk was innocent.
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And a trend of decline in priestly vocations has prompted alarm in some dioceses. Read about it here.
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Scharfenberger was found liable because of his ex officio spot on the board of a shuttered Catholic hospital — a board which seemingly continued in existence in order to administer the hospital’s eventually busted out pension plan.
The decision to hold the bishop personally liable while excusing the diocese would appear to break new legal ground in the U.S., and could trigger a revisiting of canonical arrangements across a range of Catholic institutions.
In an analysis yesterday, Ed asked whether the court’s decision will see diocesan bishops get wary about sitting ex officio on the handful of Catholic organization and institution boards they’re generally expected to serve on as part of their official duties.
And I’ve heard from plenty of people asking — reasonably — whether prosecutors, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, pursued liability judgments from Scharfenberger and his deceased predecessor, Bishop Howard Hubbard, mostly as a kind of symbolic way to give pensioners a sense that someone, and especially the Church, would be held responsible for their lost pensions.
In other words, people have asked whether the liability judgment was an easy shot at the Church from a prosecutor wanting eventually a run at the state governor’s office
It’s a reasonable question.
But on the other hand, Scharfenberger sat ex officio on a board whose principle responsibility for 10 years was to administer a pension plan for a closed hospital, and probably to dispose of property and do other wrap up duties as well.
Despite that, Scharfenberger testified that no board on which he had served ever discussed the state of the pension plan.
Five years of sitting on a board whose job is to administer a pension plan, and no discussion of the pension plan? Well, that raises some questions, too, which Scharfenberger has declined to answer.
In his analysis, Ed wrote that bishops serving ex officio on boards often concern themselves mostly with the Catholic identity of the thing being governed. That’s not my experience — I’ve served on numerous boards with ex officio episcopal members, and I’ve seen them do one of two things: Either actually pay attention, and fulfil the duties of a board member, or appoint a delegate to do the job in their stead.
I’m not sure I understand the situation Scharfenberger describes: Was it really true that the board never discussed the pension it was charged with running, or was Scharfenberger’s attention to things pretty limited?
In either case, one can see how those scenarios might lead to a judgment of liability against him and other board members.
So does that mean bishops should be wary of sitting ex officio on boards? Yes. Anyone should. Sitting on a governing board entails governing responsibility, and no one should take that up without their eyes on the job. Bishops included.
There are, to be clear, more questions than answers in Albany. And unless Bishop Scharfenberger decides he’s ready to give his side of the story, that will likely be where things remain.
By the chimney with care
In my house, like in most homes I’m familiar with, Mrs. Flynn takes up the lion’s share of Christmas preparations, and she does so admirably.
It’s she who decides the general theme and approach of the decor, and she who assigns me to lug certain boxes up from the basement, leaving other Christmas cartons rejected, waiting to be chosen only in some future year.
It’s she who makes sure that the gift piles will be balanced between the kids. It’s also she who makes sure that kids will get clothes and books for Christmas, along with the toys I pick out, mostly based on how much I want to play with them.
It’s Mrs. Flynn who makes sure we actually have wrapping paper and tape when the time comes after Midnight Mass, and it’s she who decides all Advent to put these little pots on the stove filled with oranges, and spices, and lord-knows-what-else, to make the house smell like Christmas.
I have just a few duties. I’m to lead the spiritual preparations of Advent, a job at which I’m fair-to-middling at best. I’m to ensure my own family members — her in-laws — are invited for Christmas dinner, and to ask them to bring a side or dessert. I’m to plan the Christmas cocktails, and to keep her well supplied with Brandies Alexander beginning at about the O Antiphons.
And I’m to do the stockings. Whatever my failings as a husband and father, my stocking game is on point. So today, I’m going to give you the definitive Flynn guide for successful stocking stuffing.
Here’s what you need:
The orange
The base of every well-stuffed stocking is an orange in the toe. It can be a naval orange, or it can be a pair of Clementines. It doesn’t matter. It’s unlikely anyone will eat the orange. But kids will remember it as a Christmas tradition. And you’ll tell them that when you were a kid, an orange was all you got, and you were lucky to have it.
Of course, you didn’t grow up in the Depression, but they don’t know that — everything before Doja Cat is ancient to them.
The pistachios
Every stocking needs about a cup of pistachios, shells on, dumped into the thing right above the orange. The pistachio shells will get stuck on the knitting inside the stocking, and the nuts will spill around the house for a couple of weeks. But on Christmas afternoon, you’re going to be watching a family movie, and everyone will need some protein. Your life will be better if you can hand each kid (or spouse) a stocking and tell him to eat the nuts, and not to stick the shells behind the couch cushions.
Lindor truffles
Here’s the deal: Lindor truffles are the Grey Poupon of the candy world. They make everything classier. If you want your family to feel like Christmas is special, Lindor can do the job of fine china and real silverware, with far less dishwashing and no polishing. Just toss these guys liberally into the stocking.
The best ones are the Strawberries-n-Creme, actually, but you can only get those around Valentine’s Day. The Hot Cocoa variety is also pretty good.
No one but Mom will want the dark chocolate ones, but put them in everyone’s stocking — that way kids can appear generous to Mom, and warm her little Yuletide heart, while offloading something they didn’t want in the first place.
Reese’s trees
If Lindors are like a fine wine, Reese’s Trees are crack. Everyone wants ‘em. Everyone loves ‘em. Have too many and you’ll die in ugly ways, or least lose teeth and control of your bowels.
Still, there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.
The swag
The stocking is a great place for one, small, meaningful and sentimental gift.
For boys, it’s a great place to tuck a bone-handled jackknife, with the implied message that we-think-you’re-ready-for-this.
For girls, a small piece of jewelry, costume or otherwise, is well slipped into the stocking — not wrapped, but with a little bow around the box.
For a spouse, this is where you put something they don’t know they need — an airtag to put in her purse, or a safety razor and badger brush for him, or in our house, new OveGloves to replace the nasty ones in the drawer.
The point of this small and sentimental gift is to say “I see you. I think about your daily life. I want to make it better.”
Trust me. If you want to be the king of stocking, this gift is the closer.
The staples
It’s winter. Everybody should get a chapstick (we’re big on softlips, but we call ‘em chapsticks anyway because we’re not weird.) Really good hand cream is great in the stocking. Mittens for kids.
You’ll be buying a lot of this stuff in January anyway, so you might as well make it feel like a gift. They fall for it every time.
The note
This one is just between spouses, I expect.
The note serves much the same purpose as the small-and-sentimental-gift. It also addresses any Christmas Eve tension.
Fellas, at 1:30 in the morning, well after Mass, your wife will be wrapping presents. You’ll be half-asleep, and still half-heartedly hitting on her, while Christmas music plays in the background and she tries to get paper around a soccer ball.
She will have a task to do, and you’ll be an obstacle to that task. Tempers might rise.
Behold the power of the stocking note: “Honey, our kids/dogs/fish have this beautiful Christmas because of you. All the beauty in our lives comes through you. Thank you for doing selfless tasks, and for putting up with me.”
Or ladies, you’ve got a version, too: “While I wrapped everything last night, I saw you dozing on the couch. You work so hard alongside me, and I see you. Please don’t forget to empty the dishwasher.”
Bam! All will be right in the world again. Trust me, the note’s amazing.
The coins
I don’t know anyone who likes the waxy chocolate inside a chocolate coin. But St. Nicholas maybe threw chocolate coins down the chimney to rescue women in dire circumstances or something like that, so you’ve gotta have ‘em in there. Ours tend to stay at the bottom of stocking year over year. No one will eat them, so this is fine.
After you put the coins in, don’t try to hang the stocking back on the mantle. If you’ve done it right, it’ll be too heavy. Lay them on the hearth, go to bed, and get ready to tell stories about your youthful days with the orange.
Please be assured of our Christmastide prayers, and please pray for us. We need it.
Merry Christmas!
Yours in Christ,
JD Flynn
editor-in-chief
The Pillar
Discover two millennia of Christian art with Dr. Jared Staudt this January. More than art history, this free, live course explores the theology of beauty—how faith has inspired masterpieces from ancient frescoes to soaring cathedrals. Experience the profound beauty that draws us into encountering God. Apply by January 9.
Editor’s note: Bishop Scharfenberger was appointed Bishop of Albany in 2014, and thus served five years on the hospital board. Our initial note said incorrectly he had served five years on the board.
For sure, I will pray for Paul Kim’s child. I have a great granddaughter, Emilia Schmidt, who turned 5 in September, one of a set of twins. Her mother recently rushed her to the Emergency Room because Emelia was experiencing severe abdominal pain. The diagnosis was that she has experienced a pseudoblastoma, which is a tumor that sometimes occurs in children her age. Subsequent diagnosis revealed that it is cancerous, but not aggressive. Emmy, as we call her, will begin chemotherapy sometime after Christmas. We ask for prayers for her and her family.
My Irish-born Mother came to the United States at age 16 in 1926. She told me about a Christmas when she was a little girl. Her Christmas gift was an orange. One orange. She was thrilled. Most people in County Monaghan had never seen an orange. So my mom kept it for as long as she could. She even slept with it, enjoying the sweet smell until it last she ate it. She said it was one of the best Christmases ever.