The Legend of the Candy Cane

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A candy maker wanted to invent candy that was a witness to Christ.

First he used a hard candy because Christ is the rock of ages. It was made white to represent the purity of Christ.

The peppermint flavor is similar to hyssop, used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice.

The red stripe was added representing the blood Christ shed for the sins of the world. The three thinner stripes represent the stripes He received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers wiped Him.

This hard candy was formed so that it would resemble the letter “J” for Jesus or turned upside down, a shepherd’s staff.

Jesus is the pure lamb of God, who came as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Emmanuel: The Plea and the Promise

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EWTN has a good story for the 4th Sunday of Advent, “God is with us.”
Father Thomas Rosica explains “…In the name ‘Emmanuel,’ we find the answer to humanity’s deepest longings for God throughout the ages. Emmanuel is both a prayer and plea (on our behalf) and a promise and declaration on God’s part. When we pronounce the word, we are really praying and pleading: “God, be with us!” And when God speaks it, the almighty, eternal, omnipresent Creator of the world is telling us: “I am with you” in this Child. In the baby Jesus, God is “with us,” not merely to bless us in some sort of cameo appearance at one difficult moment in history. Nor is God with us in that he is going to use Jesus to help us, protect us, rescue us from danger and guide us. No — the little Lord Jesus asleep in the manger of Bethlehem is “God with us” because he is God.” — see Father Rosica’s full reflection here http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=110189

Leah Darrow’s Faith Story

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“My faith played a back seat role for years until it all came to a soulful boiling point during a high power photo shoot and believe it or not, this is where I turned back to God and my faith. Ever heard that prodigal son story? I’m his sister.” – Leah Darrow

Footprints in the Sand (original version)

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One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson, 1936