Merry Christmas, may your celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be a pleasant one.

Allegorically (John Scotus Erigena, Hom. in Prol. Jn.): the tomb is the Sacred Scriptures. Peter is faith, which is the first thing we bring to its pages, and John is understanding, which afterward enters and penetrates their meaning more deeply. Morally, Peter and John represent the active and contemplative missions of the Church, so that even when contemplatives are the first to arrive at a deeper understanding of the faith, deference is given to the hierarchical leadership, who later defines and promulgates their authentic insights (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible).

Manual of Indulgences (USCCB)

New article covering the 1988 International Theological Commission document "Faith and Inculturation":
https://fretheim.blog/posts/inculturation/

Collect for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Pope Benedict XVI, then Cdl. Ratzinger, on the "Real Innovation" of Christianity (On Conscience: Two Essays, Ignatius Press)

"Whoever removes the Cross and its interpretation by the New Testament from the center, in order to replace it, for example, with the social commitment of Jesus to the oppressed as a new center, no longer stands in continuity with the apostolic faith. He does not see that God’s commitment to the world is most absolute precisely at this point—across a chasm."
- Hans Urs von Balthasar in "A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen"

I would like to thank Pinesap for recommending Balthasar's Short Primer. I am over halfway through and it has been a joy to read thus far, I wish I had known of this work years ago.

Plenary indulgence for participating in services during the Week of Christian Unity January 18-25 (Manual of Indulgences, USCCB)

Always remember that you will die someday.