Send 2025 CHRISTMAS CARDS to Fr. Z! – With a cautionary note. – UPDATED

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I always enjoy your Christmas cards.  The notes and letters which describe the year people have had are interesting and, often, moving.  Over the years I’ve recognized so many familiar names.  I read them all. And drawings by kids are great!  A couple years ago, I started a KID ART PAGE.  I wish I had done this earlier.

If you would like to send me Advent/Christmas greetings or cards, please send by snail mail.

Remember mail?

As I have done in years past, I’ll try to post all the places whence they were mailed from around the world.  Keep in mind that if you don’t include your address, at least your city, I can’t easily do that.

I have a US PO BOX address.

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
733 Struck St.
PO BOX 44603
Madison, WI 53744-4603

That is the P.O. Box of the Tridentine Mass Society of Madison

Someone will regularly check the P.O. box for me and forward everything.  That will add a little time to how long it takes to reach me… but they do reach me.

NB: Some of you had an alternative PO BOX address. Do NOT use that.  That postal shop went out of business!

If you want to send something time sensitive, or perhaps expensive – like keys to a Bugatti – contact me. HERE   I can give you a faster address!

If you’ve been a regular benefactor and we’ve had contact, you might consider that option.

Please DO NOT send perishable food items. I am sure they would be wonderful but, please, just don’t, not with the mail the way it’s been.

If you put glitter in the card, I’ll recite the Maledictory Psalms.

If  I receive something threatening or illegal, I will immediately turn it in to law enforcement.  I’m sorry I have to write that under such a cheery topic, but this is the world we live in, especially in this dreadful craziness going on.

UPDATE 20 Dec 25:

I am starting to get envelopes forwarded of Christmas cards.

Therefore, I’m getting your annual letters and photos and updates.

So, from where?

Mt. Holy Springs, PA (Thank God for recovery from surgeries)
Indianapolis, IN
Niceville, FL (settling in)
Arbor Vitae, WI (great to hear from you, thanks for comments about Rome photos)
Sanford, FL (see you soon, I hope)
Atlanta, GA (Thanks sometimes when mom was taking in mail, things got lost, bless her)
Orlando, FL (Great letter! Including “elk slobber” – beautiful family)
Berkley, OH (another great looking bunch of kids… fruits of the old Mass? Maybe?)
Chula Vista, CA (thanks for the Masses for my intention)
Scottsdale, AZ (I miss the chickadees)
W. Salem WI (wow… a lot… what a fun letter and KID ART)
York, PA (I remember the chat with your Rev. son in Rome for the pilgrimage! – hi to him)

KID ART

From Genevieve – 9.   I am wondering what the thought balloon is about.  I think … see what I did there? … that I am again BLUE vestments during Avent.  I think… see what I did there? … that that is a BLUE maniple and I, definitively, as a snowman, have a PURPLE maniple.   Do you have another interpretation?

From Rita – 7

Rita seems to have a grasp of human anatomy.  I’m trying to get my imagination around the location of people on the road.  And, it seems that the “inn” is slated for expansion.  Maybe by next year?

This one wasn’t signed.  I hope the AC is on in church.

UPDATE 26 Dec 25:

I received a care package of cards!

Appleton, WI – Wow!  St. Agnes folks!
Lodi,WI – What a marriage photo!
Utica, NY
Louisville, KY – I like the depiction of Joseph
Brooklyn, WI – so nice, thanks.  And KID ART!
Rochester, MI – thx for feedback on the podcasts, I don’t get much
Albany, NY – such a faithful reader and donor, thank you
Bethesda, MD – lovely family
W. St. Paul, MN – Thanks for Masses at Holy Hill. my mentor Fr. Foster is buried there.
Boca Raton, FL
Wading River, NY – thanks for the prayers for my mom
Roselle Park, NJ – Nice card
Washougal, WA – thanks!
Lakeside, CA – 73!  I want to get ZedNet going again.
Andover, MN
Mesa, AZ
Pen Argyl, PA – Thanks for checking my pieces at 1 Peter 5
Menomonee Falls, WI – “Soldier on!”
Ivy, VA – lettersfromthesaint.com
West Warwick, RI – KID ART and Latin and… the Eye of Sauron?
Malone, NY – thanks!
Andover, MN “I’m 80 years old and … I’m concerned about the leadership in the Church.”
Southwark, England  – Thanks Father!

KID ART

We have some Latin.  Is that Barad Dur next to the Christmas tree?

 

Thanks Ben.  You are for sure a lot bigger than the last time I saw you!

*Sniff*

Leaving there hurt a lot.  Thanks, Bishop.

Remember that interesting Silver Dollar?

One of you SENT IT! Thank you. I don’t know who you are. Bless you.

UPDATE 2 January 2026:

Another batch of cards arrived today. Terrific.

No kid art this time. Oh well.

A couple of amusing pics to start off.

And…

And…

But then there’s this…

Ha ha. Very funny.

Cincinnati, OH (Smariticus Pantsicus)
Liberty Lake, WA – lovely family
Howard Beach, NY – thanks for no glitter
Bradenton, FL – many thanks
Colchest, VT – you are welcome
Atherton, CA – small world – “The Parish” is amazing
Greeley, CO – you are very kind
Thaxton, VA – A calm life is a blessing
Biloxi, MS – thanks for the holy cards
Deptford, NJ – I was in your area not long ago
Calabasas, CA – nice family
Holliston, MA – congrats in advance
Shelton, CT – long-time reader!
Plano, TX – time flies
Austin, TX – be strong!
Orrtanna, PA – thanks for the Masses
River Ridge, LA (SNOW?!?)
Dorchester, MA – Oorah!
Sarasota, FL – very kind
Irving, TX – I’ll remember at San C&G
Greenville, MI – thanks for the Masses
White Bear Lake, MN – Persevere!
Eagle, ID – what a year!
Centennial, CO – “yeah!”
Corvina, CA – Confession! Yay!
Sudbury, ON – lovely card
Lost Nation, IA – lovely family
Elkton, MD – thanks for the note about going to confession
Dillsburg, PA – Nice sweaters
Ave Maria, FL – PERSEVERE!
Ashford, Middlesex, England – I look forward to returning!
Wasilla, AK – thanks for mentioning the podcasts

UPDATE 6 Jan 26:

Mechanicsburg, PA – KID ART!
Montgomery, AL – Thank you! And the Ordo will help too.
Harris, MN – I’m glad I could say Mass for that wedding intention
Tiverton, RI – nice to hear from you
Anchorage, AK – thanks and condolences
Wichita, KS – thanks for the prayers for my mother
Budapest – Köszönöm! Szép álom. Lassan tanulok magyarul. Nehéz!

The kid art tells a story… the pictures were connected, but I had to do separate photos.


21 Jan 2025

I received another batch of cards!

Where are you?

Denver, CO – thanks for the prayers for my mother
Alliston, ON
KC, MO Semiquinquennial!
Battesford, Leices., England (a familiar place over the years)
Destrehan, LA
St. Paul, MN – Hi Father!
Vatican City – Hi Guard!
Escanaba, MI – Condolences again, old friend.
Albany, NY – thanks for the Masses
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal – D!!!!
Southwark, England – HIS HERMENEUTICALNESS!
Stockport, UK (Manchester United?  Life on Mars?)
Baldwin, MD – persevere!
Southwick, MA – you are welcome for the live stream Masses
Proctor, MT – you are welcome
Harrisburg, PA – thank you
Fort Collins, CO (nice family, in the shadow of WWV)

No kid art, alas.

It is such a pleasure after supper to start opening the cards and reading annual letters and seeing pictures.  Over the years, I’ve been remembering you.

There’s something great about snail mail.

29 Jan 2026 UPDATE

Rapid City, SD (nice B&W)
Rome
Flushing, NY (thanks for the patience)
Anchorage, AK (yes.. GO TO CONFESSION!)
Rome (dear E! How you have suffered a the hands of “mercy”)
Marion, IN (Thank you for your kind words.)
Lake Minchumina, AK (no priest there… *sigh*)
Vatican City (Swiss Guards)
Lincoln, NE (what a letter!)
Pardeeville, WI (updates… do subscribe!)

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Daily Rome Shot 1521

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today’s Wordle: 4

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Cool…

And…

Black to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

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Vigil of Epiphany – The 1937 Missale Romanum Mass readings. Wherein Fr. Z rants.

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In some places where the pre-1955 Missale Romanum is being used (recently reprinted by the monks of Norcia – unboxing video HERE), for Mass the formulary for the Vigil of Epiphany is used with violet vestments. Already by the 1962 Missale, it is the formulary for 5 January celebrated in white and the readings are Titus 2:11-15 and Luke 2:21 … again.

The formulary for the pre-55 Mass is quite different.  Let’s have a look at the readings and then make some comments.

Lesson from the letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Galatians Gal 4:1-7

4 Brethren: [T]he heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; 2 but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3 So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.

Continuation ? of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew Matt 2:19-23.
[In illo tempore] 19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20 “Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archela?us reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
___

What is our liturgical context?

The Vigil of Epiphany situates the Church in a moment of quiet expectancy.

We are still within the radiance of Christmas, yet already looking toward the manifestation of Christ to the nations.

The readings chosen in the older Missal form the mind to understand what sort of revelation Epiphany will bring and what kind of people we have already become through Christ’s coming. The readings given in the older Missal are deliberate in their restraint. They do not yet show us the Magi. Instead, they tell us what kind of world Christ enters and what kind of sons we become because He has come.

Saint Paul, writing to the Galatians, reflects on inheritance and maturity. An heir possesses everything by right, yet during childhood he lives under supervision, awaiting the appointed time. Paul applies this image to the whole history of salvation. Humanity, before Christ, lived under forms of governance that restrained and instructed. The Law, customs, and even fear itself served as guardians, preserving what was promised while delaying its full possession.

When the appointed moment arrived, God acted with precision. Paul describes this moment as the fullness of time. The Son enters history through a woman and under the Law, sharing fully in the human condition. Redemption unfolds from within that condition. Those subject to the Law are gathered into a new family, receiving adoption as sons. The Spirit of the Son takes residence in the heart and gives voice to a new form of prayer: “Abba, Father.” This cry expresses a genuine change of status and a new intimacy with God.

Saint Irenaeus describes this mystery:

“For this reason did the Word of God become man, and the Son of God become the Son of man: that man, having been taken into the Word, and receiving adoption, might become a son of God.”  (Adversus haereses III, 19, 1)

To be Christian is not simply to obey a new law, it is to live a new relationship. “No longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, an heir.”

The Gospel presents this same mystery through the obedience of Saint Joseph, who is the true King of the Jews, and the hidden life of the Child, Joseph’s heir. With Herod’s death, the path opens for return. Guidance comes again through a dream, and Joseph acts decisively. Political realities still require caution, and the Holy Family settles in Nazareth. The evangelist sees in this settlement the fulfillment of prophetic expectation. God’s promises unfold through ordinary places and faithful decisions.   Paul in 2 Cor 8:9:

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Nazareth teaches the Church how divine sonship takes shape in daily life. Adoption into God’s household does not remove the believer from ordinary circumstances. It transforms them from within. The Son grows in wisdom and stature within a family, under authority, in obscurity. This pattern forms the lives of those who belong to Him.

Bl. Ildefonso Schuster remarks:

Humility is the mother of order and justice, and portrays the full beauty of the divine perfection. In the Holy Family of Nazareth authority and personal dignity are seen in inverse order. Jesus is the last in the house and is obedient to all. Mary, indeed, commands her divine Son, but yields obedience to Joseph; and he, out of obedience to the eternal Father who so ordains it, serves both Jesus and Mary, giving them commands, thus setting an example of the manner in which all prelates and superiors should act in the Church of God. The virtue of St Joseph, although proportioned to his high office as foster-father of Jesus and spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, is very much less than that of those who are subject to him; yet almighty God maintains the order of rank which he has established, and communicates his will, not to Jesus, not to Mary, but to Joseph as being the head of the house.

As the Church still waits for Epiphany – REAL Epiphany – these Mass readings invite an our examination of our identity and conscience. The inheritance has already been granted. The Spirit already prays within us. The path of obedience remains the ordinary means by which this inheritance is lived. Vigilance, trust, and fidelity prepare the heart to recognize Christ when He is manifested.

The Son has come. The Spirit has been given. The household of God stands open. The Vigil teaches us to remain attentive and obedient, so that the glory revealed to the nations may also be revealed within us and through our words and deeds to others.

Saint Leo the Great draws the conclusion for the Christian life:

“Recognize, O Christian, your dignity, and having become a sharer in the divine nature, do not return to former baseness by unworthy conduct.” (Sermon 1, 3)

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Special Blessing of Epiphany Water on the Vigil of Epiphany (5 January)

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Wonderful customs come with the Feast of the Epiphany.  Real Epiphany is 6 January, by the way.  Happily, this year it doesn’t get transferred to a Sunday because it falls on a Sunday.

On Epiphany we find in the Roman Ritual a blessing for gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Please bring all your spare, unblessed myrrh to your priest… and your gold.  Bring lots of gold to your priest… or send it to me if your priest isn’t around.

By the way, we use pure frankincense in our thurible.  I just bought a bunch more which I will bless.  I also have a bag of real myrrh.

On Epiphany there is also the famous blessing for homes.  Father can bless chalk which can be used then to mark the lintel of the house with the year.

However, today, on the Vigil of Epiphany, there is a special blessing for Epiphany Water.  Here is a photo from a few years ago, of yours truly blessing Epiphany Water.  In subsequent years people brought 5 gallon containers and lots of boxes of salt!

The Rite is very cool.  It begins with the Litany of Saints, with a couple special petitions about the blessing of the water to follow. Satan and the demons are then driven from the place with a mighty prayer.

This is NOT a prayer for lay people to recite. Period. Understand? Just don’t.

Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels [In Latin, of course. The “+” is where the celebrant makes the Sign of the Cross.]

In the name of our Lord Jesus + Christ and by His power, we cast you out, every unclean spirit, every devilish power, every assault of the infernal adversary, every legion, every diabolical group and sect; begone and stay far from the Church of God, from all who are made in the image of God and redeemed by the precious blood of the divine + Lamb. Never again dare, you cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute the Church of God, nor to strike the chosen of God and to sift them as + wheat. For it is the Most High God who commands you, + He to whom you heretofore in your great pride considered yourself equal; He who desires that all men might be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. God the Father + commands you. God the Son + commands you. God the Holy + Spirit commands you. The majesty of Christ, the eternal Word of God made flesh + commands you; He who for the salvation of our race, the race that was lost through your envy, humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death; He who built His Church upon a solid rock, and proclaimed that the gates of hell should never prevail against her, and that He would remain with her all days, even to the end of the world. The sacred mystery of the cross + commands you, as well as the power of all the mysteries of Christian faith. The exalted Virgin Mary, Mother of God + commands you, who in her lowliness crushed your proud head from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. The faith of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and the other apostles + commands you. The blood of the martyrs and the devout intercession of all holy men and women commands you.

Therefore, accursed dragon and every diabolical legion, we adjure you by the living + God, by the true + God, by the holy + God, by the God who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have life everlasting; cease your deception of the human race and your giving them to drink of the poison of everlasting damnation; desist from harming the Church and fettering her freedom. Begone Satan, you father and teacher of lies and enemy of mankind. Give place to Christ in whom you found none of your works; give place to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church, which Christ Himself purchased with His blood. May you be brought low under God’s mighty hand. May you tremble and flee as we call upon the holy and awesome name of Jesus, before whom hell quakes, and to whom the virtues, powers, and dominations are subject; whom the cherubim and seraphim praise with unwearied voices, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts!

The salt and water are exorcised, blessed, blended.

Thus, all these elements are ripped from the domination of the Prince of this world and handed over wholly to the King, ready for use in our spiritual warfare.

At the end of the rite the Te Deum is sung.  Spiffy.

Epiphany and its Vigil, once more important than Christmas.  Very ancient and very cool feast.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Classic Posts, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Save The Liturgy - Save The World |
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PSA: I don’t charge my phone from any public USB port. 

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

PSA

I don’t charge my phone from any public or transportation (e.g. airplane) USB port.  Why?  Many of them are bidirectional and your phone can be invaded and read.  Therefore, if I am out and about and I really need some power (rare) I use one of these.  It blocks transfer of data and allows only power.

click

That doesn’t solve the issue of whether or not the current is “clean” (steady and good for your phone – v. “dirty”).

An interesting tweet.  It is in Italian.

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Daily Rome Shot 1520

Posted on 4 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Photo from The World’s Best Sacristan™.

Wordle today: Failed (really hard)

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Black to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

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“Let y’all know!” The “Noveritis” Epiphany chant announcement of 2026’s movable dates and feasts

Posted on 4 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At Epiphany (real Epiphany is 6 January) we Latins have traditionally chanted a solemn proclamation of the key liturgical dates or movable feasts for the new year of salvation, just begun.

This underscores how these dates and seasons are all interconnected.

The liturgical year is a reflection of and on the mystery of our salvation.  And, never forget, the mysteries shape us.

We are our rites.

Some liturgical dates are movable. For example Septuagesima this year is 0n 1 February, early.  In 2025 Septuagesima was on 16 February, over two weeks later.  This beginning of Pre-Lent doesn’t fall on the same date every year because the date of Easter changes each year.

You can find a printable PDF of the Noveritis 2026  HERE

NB: It has Ascension Thursday on the correct day!

Better late than never.

Listen

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Daily Rome Shot 1519

Posted on 3 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today’s Wordle: 4

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

White to move and mate in 4. Tricky.


1. Qf8+ Qf7 2. e5+ dxe5 3. fxe5+ Ke6 4. Qd6#
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

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Daily Rome Shot 1518

Posted on 2 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Wordle: 5

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

And… good news…

White to move and mate in 4.

[NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others. Left lick for larger.]

 

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CHRISTMASCAzT 2025 – 33 – Octave of Christmas – Memories

Posted on 1 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The last of a series of 5 minute daily podcasts for the Octave of Christmas.

Card. Bacci took us out of last year.  He brings us in now with sound advice.

Joseph Ratzinger reflects on the rhythm of life tied to the mysteries of God and the year.

Yesterday’s podcast HERE.

 

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