We have posted a brief article explaining them on our main store site.

Most Advent and Christmas items are at least 20% off through Epiphany!

I can’t count them all.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra does the Pachelbel Canon

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGrhzCgy_bg]

And if you can stomach it, Happy Life Day from the Star Wars crew.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asnVcbWQ2cg]

The scariest thing about the Life Day special is that it was TWO HOURS long. The five minutes that are on display here are too much to stand on their own.

“The Jews solemnized a day called by them dies ignis, the day of fire with which Nehemias consumed the sacrifice, upon his return with his countrymen from the captivity of Babylon. Even so, and indeed with more reason, should Christmas day be called the day of fire, on which a God came as a little child to cast the fire of love into the hearts of men. ‘I came to cast fire on the earth.’ So spoke Jesus Christ, and truly so it was . . .

It is a custom with many Christians to anticipate the arrival of Christmas . . . by fitting up in their homes a crib to represent the birth of Jesus Christ; but there are few who think of preparing their hearts, so that the infant Jesus may be born in them . . . Among those few, however, we would be reckoned, in order that we too may be made worthy to burn with that happy flame which gives contentment to souls on this earth, and bliss in heaven. Let us consider . . . how the Eternal Word had no other end in becoming man than to inflame us with his divine love. Let us ask light of Jesus Christ and of his most holy mother, and so let us begin.”

- St. Alphonsus Liguori

Last minute gift ideas for Christmas. We recommend and we offer  Priority Mail and FedEx shipping options to get your gifts to you on time!

Last minute CD gift ideas! Choose Priority Mail or FedEx.

Last minute DVD gift ideas! Choose Priority Mail or FedEx.

Beautiful Catholic jewelry is always a wonderful gift idea. Most of our jewelry is in stock and ready to ship out right away.
Choose Priority Mail or FedEx. Please click here to browse our huge selection of Catholic jewelry:

Special Notice - All Advent and Christmas items are now on sale at 15% off!

Aquinas and More Catholic Goods Shipping Deadlines. Please consult this chart to receive your purchases before Christmas Day (applies to in
stock items only):

* USPS Standard Shipping Deadline is December 14

* FedEx Ground Shipping Deadline is December 17

* USPS Priority Mail Deadline is December 19

* FedEx 2-Day Deadline is December 20 (Noon, Mountain time)

* After noon on December 20, please call us toll free (866) 428-2820

Mary’s virginal motherhood in God’s plan

“The eyes of faith can discover in the context of the whole of Revelation the mysterious reasons why God in his saving plan wanted his Son to be born of a virgin. These reasons touch both on the person of Christ and his redemptive mission, and on the welcome Mary gave that mission on behalf of all men.

Mary’s’ virginity manifests God’s absolute initiative in the Incarnation. Jesus has only God as Father. ‘He was never estranged from the Father because of the human nature which he assumed …. He is naturally Son of the Father as to his divinity and naturally son of his mother as to his humanity, but properly Son of the Father in both natures.’

Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary’s womb because he is the New Adam, who inaugurates the new creation: ‘The first man was from earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ From his conception, Christ’s humanity is filled with the Holy Spirit, for God ‘gives him the Spirit without measure.’ From ‘his fullness’ as the head of redeemed humanity ‘we have all received, grace upon grace.”

- Catechism of the Catholic Church 502-504

Beautiful Christmas Ornaments are in stock now! Order today to have them on your Christmas tree this year. Choose Priority Mail or FedEx to receive them in time. . .

Christmas pins are in stock now! Order yours today and and proudly profess that Christ is at the heart of your Christmas celebration. Choose Priority Mail or FedEx to receive them in time.

Beautiful, hand-carved olive wood Nativity Sets from the Holy Land are in stock now. These intricately carved small Nativities are made by Christian families in Bethlehem. Choose Priority Mail or FedEx to receive them in time.

To browse our selection of beautiful Catholic art, including paintings and icons, please click here.

To browse our complete 2008 Calendar selection, including perpetual calendars, please click here.

To browse our complete selection of Lionheart Catholic apparel, please click here.

Joy is the True Gift of Christmas

“With the angel’s greeting to Mary - ‘kaire’ in the Greek, which means ‘be joyful’ - the New Testament begins,” he said. “We could say that the first word of the New Testament is ‘be joyful,’ ‘be happy,’ in other words, ‘joy.’ This is the true meaning of Christmas: God is near us, so near that He became a child.”

The Holy Father then highlighted how “we realize that today’s world, where God is absent, is dominated by fear, by uncertainty.” Nonetheless, “the words ‘be joyful because God is with you and with us,’ truly open a new time.”

“Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not the expensive gifts that call for time and money. We can communicate this joy simply: with a smile, a kind gesture, a little help, forgiveness. And the joy we give will certainly come back to us.…Let us pray that this presence of the liberating joy of God shines forth in our lives.”

- Pope Benedict XVI commenting on the scene of the Annunciation, as recounted in the Gospel of St. Luke, during his homily for the fourth Sunday of Advent in 2006.

Catholic gift-giving ideas for this Christmas Season

“Go back to that night when Divine Light, in order to illumine the darkness of men, tabernacled himself in the world he had made, and you will see that only the simple and the learned found him, namely, the shepherds and the wise men. The angels and a star caught up in the reflection of that Light, as a torch lighted by a torch, and passed it on to the watchers of sheep and the searchers of the skies. And lo! as the shepherds watched their flocks about the hills of Bethlehem, they were shaken by the light of the angels . . . And lo! as wise men from beyond the land of Media and Persia searched the heavens, the brilliance of a star, like a tabernacle lamp in the sanctuary of God’s creation, beckoned them on to the stable where the star seemed to lose its light in the unearthly brilliance of the Light of the World.”

- Archbishop Fulton Sheen in “Advent and Christmas with Fulton J. Sheen”

To browse more books for gift-giving ideas, please click here.

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DVD gift-giving ideas

“To the shepherds, the angel announced the birth of Jesus as the Messiah promised to Israel: ‘To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ From the beginning he was ‘the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world,’ conceived as ‘holy’ in Mary’s virginal womb. God called Joseph to ‘take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit,’ so that Jesus, ‘who is called Christ,’ should be born of Joseph’s spouse into the messianic lineage of David.

Jesus’ messianic consecration reveals his divine mission, ‘for the name ‘Christ’ implies ‘he who anointed,’ ‘he who was anointed’ and ‘the very anointing with which he was anointed.’ The one who anointed is the Father, the one who was anointed is the Son, and he was anointed with the Spirit who is the anointing. His eternal messianic consecration was revealed during the time of his earthly life at the moment of his baptism by John, when ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,’ ‘that he might be revealed to Israel’ as its Messiah. His works and words will manifest him as ‘the Holy One of God.”

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 437, 438

More Great Gift Ideas for this Christmas Season:

To browse our selection of beautiful Catholic art, including paintings and icons, please click here.

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To browse our complete 2008 Calendar selection, including perpetual calendars, please click here.

To browse our complete selection of Lionheart Catholic apparel, please click here.

Is There Room in the Inn of My Heart?

“The Mother of Christ teaches us to recognize the time of God, the favorable moment when he comes into our life and asks for a prompt and generous response. The mystery of the Holy Night, which occurred historically 2,000 years ago, becomes a reality as a spiritual event in the ‘today’ of the liturgy. The Word, who took up dwelling in Mary’s womb, comes knocking at the door of every person’s heart with particular intensity at this and at every Christmas.”

- Angelus message of the late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, December 19, 1999.

A while back I mentioned that the largest supplier of poinsettias in the United States likes to give lots of money to Planned Parenthood. A commenter pointed us to a company that does good with their business. Thanks Kristin!

Christmas Cards, official items printed with a Christmas message and sent to wish others a “A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”, were first printed in England in 1843 making them as old as the opera Don Pasquale, the United Free Church of Scotland, the British colony of Natal, a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and your grandmother’s fruit cake.

Sir Henry Cole commissioned John Callcott Horsley to create the first Christmas card. Sir Cole must have had a lot of friends and a lot of free time since he had 1000 printed. Unfortunately, he didn’t give thought to the sensibilities of the times setting off what could be one of the earliest politically correct protests when temperance groups objected to the image on the card depicting a child drinking wine with his family. In our family we believe that children shouldn’t have liquor until they are at least three so the temperance protest is understandable. It should also be noted that the first card didn’t actually include an image of anything religious proving that the English are a bunch godless heathens only interested in selling tea and the worst food on the planet.

Actually, if you look carefully at the card you will see some unhappy figures on the edges. Sir Cole was very concerned about the poor in England and wanted to remind his friends to do something charitable during the Christmas season so he had these cards sent instead of handwriting individual letters. (This is true). (So was most everything else I said so far).

Americans, always quick to copy the British in everything except military tactics, started mailing cards in 1845/6 but had to import them from Europe for thirty years until a someone figured out that yes, Christmas cards can be printed outside of the British Isles. Louis Prang, a German immigrant, started selling multi-colored Christmas cards in Europe in 1865 and started selling them in the United States in 1875. Within six years he was producing over five-million cards a year. That’s equivalent to 10% of the US population at the time.

The first home-photograph card was introduced by Kodak in 1902 which has made it possible for everyone to see how great your family and dog look in matching sweaters.

The first White House Christmas card was sent in 1953 when Dwight Eisenhower was president. Just another reason why everyone liked Ike. The cards were sent to 2000 of his most personal friends. White House Christmas cards now get sent to about 1.6 million people which kind of takes away the thrill of getting one.

If you send Christmas cards, you aren’t alone. The average US household receives an estimated 20 cards a year, down from 27 in the 80’s and 1.9 billion, yes that’s with a “b”, Christmas cards are sent in the US each year.

We recommend visiting the Christmas card gallery to see some examples of antique cards.

This history was culled from Wikipedia, Christmas in St. Charles, Emotion Greeting Cards and our seven-week-old daughter, Maria who thinks Christmas cards taste great.

If you want to help the US get to 2 billion cards sent each year, we recommend browsing our Christmas card section with a giving heart.

You might also like our posts on Saint making and All Saints Day.

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Aquinas and More is helping you take care of your Christmas shopping early so you can enjoy a spiritually rewarding Advent. Take 15% off just about everything on our site from Wednesday (21) evening - Monday (26) evening.

All orders over $55 will include a free copy of Catholic Men’s Quarterly and receive free standard shipping in the US. (Magazine subscriptions not included).

Here are some highlights:

The Shepherds’ Prayer

A young man with no name, orphaned as a baby, sets off to find out
the truth about the circumstances of his birth, the fate of his
parents, and his heritage. Having been raised in a culture where
bloodlines mean everything, he seems forever condemned to live as an
outsider on the fringes of society.

His only clue is a cryptic message on a lambskin
blanket about a child born in a stable in Bethlehem, near where his
adopted father had rescued him as a baby so long ago.

The townspeople offer no help, but later he seeks
out a band of shepherds who, it’s said, are evildoers who caused a
terrible massacre.

Can these rough herdsmen lead him to the truth he
is seeking? Burying his fear, he sets out to find them. He is
determined to learn the truth. What really happened in that stable
thirty years earlier?

The answers will change his life forever…and maybe yours.

Kissing the Face of God Christmas Card

This adorable card has been a runaway bestseller this season. More are on the way!

We also have plenty of other Advent and Christmas items available.

Since almost all of our jewelry is available for shipping within three business days, now the best time to get that special Christmas present.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Aquinas and More staff.

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“Advent Begins December 2 - The Start of the New Church Year. We Celebrate the Season of the Birth of Our Lord”

“Advent calls us as Christians to ponder again the mystery of our salvation, our hope that there is an answer to the riddle of earthly life with its passing joys, disappointments, sorrows and frustrations, and it apparently dark end in the oblivion of death.

Does life go anywhere? Does it have any meaning? Advent calls every one of us to stop in the struggle of life and to look up, to recall the answer to the questions of life. We are on a journey to our Father’s house. The door has been opened to us by the Son of God, and the way marked out.

Advent invites us to look back over the long centuries, during which the human race struggled on in shadows. Of course, there was always some light. It began with the promise of a Redeemer who would crush the head of the destroying Serpent, the Son of a woman at bitter enmity with evil.

As believers, we have the faith to know that God came to us through no merit of our own, and that He comes to us still by His grace. He calls us by His birth, His life, His terrible death, and His glorious Resurrection. Advent reminds us that He will come again.”

- Fr. Benedict Groeschel, excerpted from his book “Behold, He Comes”

Are you look for Advent wreathes or replacement Advent candles for your wreath?

We’ve got what you need - for your home or for your parish!

To browse our complete selection of Advent wreathes and Advent candles for your home, please click here.

To browse our complete selection of Advent wreathes and Advent candles for your parish, please click here.

“The coming of God’s Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the ‘First Covenant.’ He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.

When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor’s (St. John the Baptist) birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 522, 52

To browse our complete selection of Nativity Sets, please click here.

We are featuring a wonderful selection of Christmas cards this year - our largest ever. You won’t find these cards just anywhere - isn’t that nice for a change?

We’ve worked hard to bring you unique cards, with a faithful Catholic message, to help make your own Christmas message to your friends and family a bit more special this year.

To browse our complete selection of Christmas Cards, please click here.

Please visit our Advent and Christmas specialty store, by clicking right here.

A Prayer of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

“Let your goodness Lord, appear to us, that we, made in your image, may conform ourselves to it. In our own strength we cannot imagine your majesty, power, and wonder nor is it fitting for us to even try. But your mercy reaches us from the heavens, through the clouds, to the earth below. You have come to us as a small child, but you have brought us the greatest gift, the gift of your eternal love. Caress us with your tiny hands, embrace us with your tiny arms, and pierce our hearts with your soft, sweet cries. Amen.”

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