When a neighbor of mine was
good-naturedly chiding me for having so many lights adorning the front of our
house during the holidays, I was hoping to find a copy of Father Mark Link's The
Merriest Christmas Book. This book is a wonderful source of stories and
reflections on Christmas. (For the record, our house does not have the kind of
display that prompts folks to drive by and point. It's just some LED lights on a
couple of wreaths hanging on the front door and garage and on bushes. Maybe a
little more, but not much.) The article that I wanted to show my
neighbor explains the reason for the Christmas tree, the globe-shaped ornaments
and the lights. The tree represents the tree with the serpent in the Garden of
Eden, and the round ornaments represent the apples that lead to original sin.
The lights represent the Light-of-Christ who lifts the yoke of that sin. The
more the better. So there, my funny friend.
While I was visiting Frank Raispis a couple of weeks ago (early December), Fr. George Lane, SJ, showed up. In the past he had been the head of Loyola Press, so I asked him if he knew how I could get a copy of Fr. Link's Christmas book. He didn't, but as we talked about Fr. Mark Link, who is residing at Columbiere, a retirement community for Jesuits of the Chicago Province, he informed me that Fr. Link writes a blog. I was unable to find Father's blog, but when I "googled" Fr. Link, I found a huge number of entries referencing him. Among other things, it said that more than 10 million of his books have been sold.
Speaking of Frank Raispis, Mike Berkery, class of '63, told me that Frank has received over 100 Christmas cards due to the WolvesDen item that Ryan Burgin had posted just before Christmas. That's great! Frank really appreciates being remembered. Mike said that he was quite moved by many of your comments. Keep in mind that cards and letters are welcome any time of year.
For Christmas, my wife and I received a Christmas CD performed by the St. Ignatius Chamber Orchestra and the Bella Voce Choir. It was wonderful. I don’t have a trained ear for orchestral music, but I thought that it was very well done...well worth a listen.
In case you’re not aware, the Wolfpack basketball team has been doing very well so far this year. As of today (12/31/12), they are 10 and 4. A little earlier, they were ranked in the top 20 in both the Sun-Times and Trib. They’ve slipped in the rankings a little since the Christmas tournament.
Finally, this year was filled with great highs and lows for me, my family and my friends. Over the months I've listed both. To kick off the new year, I'll leave you with a favorite quote:
Courage is not always a clanging gong. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."
Have a very Happy New Year.
While I was visiting Frank Raispis a couple of weeks ago (early December), Fr. George Lane, SJ, showed up. In the past he had been the head of Loyola Press, so I asked him if he knew how I could get a copy of Fr. Link's Christmas book. He didn't, but as we talked about Fr. Mark Link, who is residing at Columbiere, a retirement community for Jesuits of the Chicago Province, he informed me that Fr. Link writes a blog. I was unable to find Father's blog, but when I "googled" Fr. Link, I found a huge number of entries referencing him. Among other things, it said that more than 10 million of his books have been sold.
Speaking of Frank Raispis, Mike Berkery, class of '63, told me that Frank has received over 100 Christmas cards due to the WolvesDen item that Ryan Burgin had posted just before Christmas. That's great! Frank really appreciates being remembered. Mike said that he was quite moved by many of your comments. Keep in mind that cards and letters are welcome any time of year.
For Christmas, my wife and I received a Christmas CD performed by the St. Ignatius Chamber Orchestra and the Bella Voce Choir. It was wonderful. I don’t have a trained ear for orchestral music, but I thought that it was very well done...well worth a listen.
In case you’re not aware, the Wolfpack basketball team has been doing very well so far this year. As of today (12/31/12), they are 10 and 4. A little earlier, they were ranked in the top 20 in both the Sun-Times and Trib. They’ve slipped in the rankings a little since the Christmas tournament.
Finally, this year was filled with great highs and lows for me, my family and my friends. Over the months I've listed both. To kick off the new year, I'll leave you with a favorite quote:
Courage is not always a clanging gong. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."
Have a very Happy New Year.
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