Crossed The Tiber

An Evangelical Converts to Catholicism

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Location: Pennsylvania, United States

I was born into the Catholic faith. At 14, I was "born again" and found Jesus personally but lost His Church. After thirty years as an evangelical protestant, I have come full circle to find that He has been there all the time, in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I wish others to find the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith as I have found.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Happy Epiphany!



Christmas ain't over yet for us Catholics, and all those who follow the liturgical calendar. Today we celebrate the story of the three kings who travel to Bethlehem to worship their king.
The Incarnation is so important that Advent precedes it and prepares us for it for 4 weeks. But, the real Christmas season as celebrated by the Church doesn't end until Candlemas in February, 40 days after December 25th. On Candelmas, we celebrate the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

So when the world is taking down their decorations and trees and getting the first of the credit card bills for their Christmas gifts, we are just warming up in our continued celebration of God's gift to us: becoming human so we can share in His divinity. Now, doesn't it make sense that our celebration of the greatest event in salvation history should last just a little bit longer so we can meditate on these great mysteries, as Mary did, pondering these things in our hearts?

As a special Christmas present to my blogger friends, here's a new version of an old song, still warm, fresh from St. Joseph's Studio. Sing of Mary, an instrumental on autoharp, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and accordion.

















8 Comments:

Blogger George Weis said...

This is nothing short of brilliant! This may musically trump my other fav from you Russ :D

This has so much warmth and it makes me feel light inside. Thanks for the gift, and oddly enough there is a gift for you on my blog :)

You may or may not like it, but I had you in mind.

Be well and full of blessings my friend,
-g-

January 04, 2009 3:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So sweet ... thanks TJ! A nice way to christen your new studio.

Who knows - I just may leave my stuff up until Candlemas.

January 04, 2009 5:08 PM  
Blogger George Weis said...

Hey when is Candlemas? And what I might add...

-g-

January 04, 2009 8:00 PM  
Blogger Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

hey Nancy thanks.
I hope and pray the album will be a blessing when its finished.
Yeah, we leave our Christmas tree up probably a bit too long. More out of laziness vs devotion. :)

January 04, 2009 8:59 PM  
Blogger Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

George, I added a link to the word Candelmas in the above post. If you have a chance you can go back and check it out. Candelmas is the midpoint of winter, the feast of presentation of Jesus in the Temple and Mary's ritual purification as prescribed in the law. It's also Ground hog day!

January 04, 2009 9:02 PM  
Blogger LuisLiviaLuisa said...

A Holy and Happy Feast of the Epiphany!
I invite you to listen a special episode of the podcast “Levántate y Sal a Caminar…” ( this week in an English version) dedicated to the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.
32 minutes of Christmas carols in many languages, something about Russian Christmas and more…
Jesus loves you and Mary too.
Luisa from Lima - Peru
You can listen to it in: http://levantateysalacaminar.podomatic.com
“God is shining forth in the most unwanted and unsuspected places…” St. Anthony Messenger

January 04, 2009 9:18 PM  
Blogger George Weis said...

Oopps missed that link! Sorry Russ!

-g-

January 05, 2009 12:18 PM  
Blogger Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

you didnt miss it George!, I went back and added the link after you asked about candelmas.

January 05, 2009 2:18 PM  

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