In the spiritually malnourished first half of my life, my ministers made fun of the idea that Jesus is either a commercialized sweet and helpless little baby in a manger or an effeminate helpless dead man nailed to a pagan cross.

Instead, we were to think of him in "truth" -- as the one who would soon come riding down from heaven on a white horse with a rod of iron, taking charge as King of kings and Lord of lords, ruling over a geopolitical kingdom on earth for 1000 years.

I never observed a Christmas or an Easter growing up -- because those were pagan, worldly holidays.

So now, of course, I am especially nourished by meditating on the joyful and sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. I don't take them for granted, but feed my soul with them.

Christmas and the Easter triduum are special times for us (my wife grew up the same way I did), even though we don't have any family memories of them as children.

Please pray for my aging parents, one of which is struggling in a nursing home. They have never progressed beyond their false religion.

To their angels, to our Holy Mother, to St. Padre Pio, to St. Jude Help of the Hopeless, to St. Monica -- I ask, Pray for us.

Help such enemies of the Church even invisibly, behind the scenes, for the salvation of their souls and to the glory of God.

This is my prayer literally every day.