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Chapter Members' anthology

- RESOURCES

From time to time, Chapter members will author, write, publish, film, record or otherwise pen or produce an article, a paper, a tome, or video or other work, study or story, worth of our reading or viewing and further inquiry. In no distinct order, below is a compendium of such articles, papers, and tomes, and other works from the Chapter's postulants, novices, and professed. Included in the list below may be works of the Friars and other members of the Order of Preachers.
Please note that the writings below have not been granted an imprimatur or a nihil obstat by the Chapter, its members, or any ecclesiastical authority. Writings with opposing views are welcome, as long as the writing(s) is Catholic. If you find an error, either grammatical, doctrinal or otherwise, please bring it to the attention of the Prior, Formation Director, or other member of the Council. (See, members of the Council here). Thank you!
The Evidence is Substantial.
Is December 25^th, the true date of the birth of Jesus Christ?

Professor and friar, Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P., gives his answer, largely included in the following reference, on the Holy Name of Jesus (Western) Dominican Province website at lowest.org (LINK).
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Many will deny that it is the actual birthdate of Christ, but there is substantive evidence that December 25^th is the actual birthdate of Our Lord.

Some Protestants say that the Catholic Church chose December 25th to "baptize" a pre-existing pagan holiday. However, there is no evidence that any purported pagan gods were born on December 25^th; or that it was set up officially by the Roman emperor or by the Empire to celebrate that date, melding the pagan gods with that of Christ.

But there is evidence that Jesus was indeed born in December, and likely on the 25^th. Let’s look at the evidence.
1. In Luke 1:5, we are told that, “in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.” Elizabeth was advanced in years and barren. Luke 1:7.
2. If you look carefully at 1 Chronicles 24:7-19, it was King David who divided the priests into 24 separate orders, and these orders took turns serving in the Temple for a period of eight days, two times a year, serving separately from their wives and children.
3. In Luke 1:8, it states that while Zechariah was serving as priest before God when his division of Abijah was serving, “according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the LORD and burn incense.”
4. During his time in the temple, an Angel of the LORD appeared to him, stating that “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” Luke 1: 12-13.
5. If this was the 2^nd course of service for the year, this would have been around the 24^th week of the year, which would have been in September or October, depending upon the given year.
6. In checking on the AI, I learned that the feast of Yom Kippur occurred in September of the years 4 to 1 B.C.
7. In Luke 1, it notes that after Elizabeth had conceived of John the Baptist, and “for five months she hid herself, saying, “Thus the LORD has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.” Luke 1:24-26.
8. In the next verse, the Holy Bible states that, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.” Luke 1: 26-27. It is clear this reference to the sixth month relates to the date of conception of St. John the Baptist.
9. After the Annunciation, the angel declared to Mary, “and behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.” Luke 1:36. This is clear evidence that St. John was six months in the womb on the date of the Annunciation.
10. In the apocryphal work titled the “Infancy Gospel of James” (dated around the early 100s AD), the book implies that Zechariah’s vision happened on the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which is largely in September.
11. St. John the Baptist was born approximately 9 months later, around June of the next year.
12. If Our Lord was conceived six months after St. John the Baptist, that would have been around March of the next year, with 9 months later being the December next.
13. The Catholic Church celebrates the Nativity of St. John the Baptist on June 24 of each year, which is the last day of Spring, and we celebrate Christ’s birth six months later December 25^th.
14. In John 3:30, St. John the Baptist asserts that Jesus must increase and that “I must decrease.”
15. St. Bede (8^th Century) wrote about this event referencing the feast days of June 24 as to St. John the Baptist and December 25 as to Christ, because from June 24^th onward, the sunlight in the world decreases and after December 25^th the sunlight of the world increases. All of this on a cyclical basis.
16. It was St. John Chrysostom (AD 347-407) argued strongly that December 25 was the birthdate due to Zechariah’s priestly service; but it is also noted that Pope Julius (reigned from AD 337-352) determined Christ’s birth “from the census documents brought by Titus to Rome” after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. From that evidence, Pope Julius determined the date of Christ’s birth to be December 25^th.
17. Theophilus of Caesarea (AD 115-181) wrong that “we ought to celebrate the birth of our Lord on December 25^th.” Sextus Julius Africanus (AD 160-240) concluded that OUR LORD was conceived on March 25 and therefore born on December 25.
18. Hippolytus of Rome (AD 170 – 2430), provided that the birth of Jesus was “eight days before the calends [first days] of January”. St. Irenaeus (AD 130-202) concluded the same.
Video, Audio & Document Links
- Mr. Andrew Bartel, O.P. -- Presentation at the Trad Recovery Conference
- America, Take Up Your Rosaries! by Alexandra Yeryomin, OP
Authors, Books, Writings, Tomes

SAINT MARGARET OF CASTELLO CHAPTER

THIRD ORDER OF ST. DOMINIC, INC.
LAY FRATERNITIES OF ST. DOMINC, BOISE, IDAHO, U.S.A.

Chapter Members' anthology

The Evidence is Substantial.

Video, Audio & Document Links

Authors, Books, Writings, Tomes