A Christmas book that’s just far too cynical

The first reading at Mass on Sunday was very striking; at least, it struck a kind of sympathetic fear in my heart. It was from the first book of Maccabees and described a situation where, surrounded by a hostile pagan peoples, many true believers i.e. Israelites, decided to “reach an understanding” with the society surrounding them. They “abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to the heathen rule...

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