Tidings of Great Joy – Keeping Christmas Well
“And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the Knowledge,” wrote Charles Dickens of his resurrected Scrooge. He added, “May that truly be said of us, and of all of us,” challenging us to live in the bright light of Christmas as well. In Tidings of Great Joy – Keeping Christmas Well, we explore the depths of A Christmas Carol’s “If any”, “May that truly be” and “Keeping Christmas well”.
25 moving Advent Reflections give way to 25 Memoirs or musings upon gifts given when neissseria meningitis and imminent death and catastrophe reigned, gifts that shed light into the darkness of a 15 month exile from hearth and home and Maggie and our 12 children — gifts of goodness and grace, spiritual, emotional, inspirational — gifts tendered in words and in deeds, in laughter and in tears, in both the everyday and the ordinary and the miraculous — gifts that tempered unbelievable suffering, trauma and loss — gifts that reclaimed.
Out of the darkness of October 4, 2005 and into the light of December 21, 2006, a Homecoming for Christmas, they worked their magic and living expression was given to “If any man alive” and “Truly keeping Christmas well”. Oh what it is to finally be worthy of Christmas and its unbridled Tidings of Great Joy.
What Must Needs Come – A Legacy of Gettysburg
“I have been a soldier all my life and it is my opinion that no 15,000 men ever arrayed for battle can take that position,” said General Longstreet to his Commanding General, Robert Edward Lee, as they studied the Union’s Cemetery Ridge line in the early morning, before the sun rose, on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg.
But General Lee did not listen to his Old Warhorse as he rather chose to ‘risk and dare’ and commit everything.
In What Must Needs Come – A Legacy of Gettysburg, you will spend that pivotal 3rd day, in what was arguably the greatest battle in American history, in Lee’s mind, heart, and soul. A deeply faithful, Christian humanist, it was he who called all of the questions and forced all of the action there, he who unwittingly hallowed that ground and gave rise to Abraham Lincoln’s “new birth of freedom.” To our author, the study of history is a living search for our national soul and this moving look at one man on one day at Gettysburg is richly inspiring history at its best.
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble Books as well as at Tate Publishing.
A Pilgrim’s Song – Mary Varick and her Theology of Suffering
At first glance, Mary Varick’s theology might well have seemed absolutely nuts. After all, she insisted that God’s greatest gifts included pain, denial, suffering, and sacrifice; likely because those she served and helped bring to God were frequently blessed with gifts such as these.
Handicapped, Mary Varick had a great husband, four children, and a wonderful life that was threatened by a ravaging bone cancer. In the annals of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, just north of Quebec City, you can read about the miracle that sent that cancer back to the abyss on July 21, 1951. But here, you’ll read about the second thirty-seven years of her life and the relentless sojourn of this unabashed pilgrim who was so determined to bring others, especially her disabled “God’s inner circle,” to joy, grace, and God.
The author, her nephew, also came to live where the suffering is and to thrive. Ultimately, this is a story about turning suffering into a redemptive force for good and for grace – for purpose and joy – and for communion with God.
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble Books as well as at Tate Publishing.
Just Around the Bend
(by George Martin with Richard Fritzky)
George Martin was the chaplain, captain, player representative, and defensive end of the 87’ Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
A leader of men and a spirited activist, he both founded and contributed mightily to many community and charitable organizations. His giving reached its zenith, when he, one day, determined to walk clear across the United States of America on behalf of the first responders, the rescue and recovery workers, who rushed in when everyone else rushed out of the World Trade Center on the tragic morning of 9/11. Just Around the Bend captures that incredible journey – the people met, the sites seen, all of the rich pathos and passion and panorama of it. In its heart, it is a story about the resiliency of the American spirit and of the American dream.
Available via Significance Press, New York, NY.
It Isn’t Cheaper by the Dozen Anymore
It Isn’t Cheaper by the Dozen Anymore captures the moving musings and reflections of a father of 12, in a day and age when the average number of children in a family has dwindled to 1.75 and is declining still. It is comprised of short stories that will leave you smiling or laughing or wondering about the inherent and most treasured values in any life worth living. It is about belief and hope and faith and daring greatly and living on the edge. It is about family and loyalty and the ability that each and every one of us possess to go out and change the world.
Some of the best pieces in it will be given a fresh look and a new twist in the book that Rich is currently writing – Tidings of Great Joy.
To order, send $25 to Rich Fritzky @ 9 Roseville Road, Stanhope, NJ 07874 with name and return address.