Happy New Year!

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective... Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."
~ G. K. Chesterton 

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
~ Benjamin Franklin

Merry Christmas!

The House of Christmas 

by G.K. Chesterton 

There fared a Mother driven forth 

Out of an inn to roam; 

In the place where she was homeless 

All men are at home. 

The crazy stable close at hand, 

With shaking timber and shifting sand, 

Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand 

Than the square stones of Rome. 

For men are homesick in their homes,

 And strangers under the sun, 

And they lay their heads in a foreign land 

Whenever the day is done. 

 Here we have battle and blazing eyes, 

And chance and honour and high surprise, 

But our homes are under miraculous skies 

Where the yule tale was begun. 

A Child in a foul stable, 

Where the beasts feed and foam; 

Only where He was homeless 

Are you and I at home; 

We have hands that fashion and heads that know,

 But our hearts we lost---how long ago!

 In a place no chart nor ship can show 

Under the sky's dome. 

 This world is wild as an old wife's tale, 

And strange the plain things are,

The earth is enough and the air is enough 

For our wonder and our war; 

But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings 

And our peace is put in impossible things 

Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings 

Round an incredible star. 

To an open house in the evening

 Home shall all men come, 

To an older place than Eden 

And a taller town than Rome. 

To the end of the way of the wandering star, 

To the things that cannot be and that are, 

To the place where God was homeless 

And all men are at home.

Newsletter!

Check out our first newsletter, The Voice.  Click on the NEWSLETTER tab at the top of the page!

Click HERE to read some exciting news!

It's Here!

Our Christmas issue is available!  Click on the READ CURRENT ISSUE tab above, or order a print copy today. 

 Blessed Advent!

Waiting ...

...it's the spirit of Advent, right?  Then maybe you'll forgive us for not quite having our December issue ready yet?!  Actually, our "official" publication dates are the 15th of the month ... so we're not really late.  But as we were ahead of the game in June and September, publishing by the 1st of the month ... well, it's only natural you might have expected the same for December.  Truly, we are just a day or two away from having the new issue out, and we hope you'll think it was worth the wait!

Christmas is coming!

... and from Advent to Epiphany, Holy Mother Church calls to mind the practice of giving gifts.  From St. Nicholas' feast on December 6th, to the Nativity of Jesus on the 25th and the arrival of the three Kings on January 6th, we have many opportunities to exchange gifts ... and especially to remember and be grateful for the greatest Gift ever given ... God's own Son, Jesus!

In keeping with the spirit of the season, we want to encourage you to consider giving a gift subscription to The Voice of Valor to a friend, relative, school or youth group in your area.  Help them fight the good fight all year round with the inspiration and support found in this new magazine.  It is a gift that will reap benefits long past the Christmas season! And, it's easy to give ... just click on the link in the side bar, and your gift will be on it's way.

Wishing you a blessed Advent!

Almost there!

Today we printed proof copies of the December issue, and handed them off to our dedicated proof readers.  With a little bit of luck we should have the final issue ready by early next week ... maybe not on the first of December, but close!  Thanks to all who participated in the survey and who sent in letters ... we really appreciate it!  God bless you,

Did you notice?

Over at the right ... the PayPal button?!   We're trying something new ... making it possible for our readers to purchase print copies online,  thus eliminating the wait time involved in sending in postal orders.  But this is our first time ever using a Pay Pal account ... so we're sending up a prayer that things are set up correctly and your purchasing/order experience will go smoothly.  If you find glitches in the process, please let us know by sending an email.  We really want to make it work!  Thanks.

And speaking of "thanks" ... wishing all our readers a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.  We have so MUCH for which to be grateful!  God bless you~

Another little preivew...

This weekend we hope to take the last photos for our December issue, and then it's just a matter of final layout and proofing ... soon you'll be able to read a copy online, or receive one in print.  But until then, here's another little preview of the Vox Populi article:

COMMERCIALIZING CHRISTMAS

 In the recent centuries it seems there is a new aspect to one of the many wonderful holidays that we enjoy each year. This new aspect, the commercialization of Christmas, is one in which money, buying presents, or having the best decorations, is at the forefront. Many of the businesses today rely on Christmas profits to get them out of the red for the year.  On average, about half the money that goes into advertisement for the year is spent during the Christmas season or on Christmas related advertisements. Another part of the commercialization of Christmas is the significance of giving gift cards and what it implies. So is Christmas really about buying and receiving presents, or is there a deeper, more solemn purpose?

Interesting!

We are getting ready to publish the results of our Christmas survey and one thing we found interesting was  the replies for the question about your favorite Christmas Song.  There were 19 different songs among the responses!  The winning title (so far) is only ahead of the second place song by a single vote!  If you haven't voted yet, your vote could change things!  Encourage family and friends to cast a vote, too!  And then watch for the results of all the survey questions in December.

Maybe you are wondering ...

... wondering about what will be in our December issue?   Good things!  Here is a sneak preview of the article for the Mary's Militia column.

 Innocence

 Christmas is a season that should bring out the best in us, but for some people it brings out the worst. If we consider the true meaning of Christmas, I’m sure everybody would see past the gifts and focus on true virtue. Innocence is a virtue that is closely associated with Christmas and it should be more promoted today. Innocence is defined as freedom from sin or moral wrong. Is this what it means to you? When people mention innocence do you think about innocent people, like the infant Jesus or the Virgin Mary? They are perfect models of purity and innocence...

 

Time's running out ...

We are getting serious about the December issue, and will soon begin to tabulate results from the Christmas survey.  If you haven't had a chance to answer the survey questions yet, please do!  And please also encourage your friends and family to participate ... there are just four questions, so it takes only a minute.

Looking forward to sharing the results in the December issue!

Our Story

Surprise!  We wanted to share a bit of the background about
The Voice of Valor, and how it came to be.  Feel free to pass along the link to friends who might be interested.

Holy Rosary Sunday

This feast is a great opportunity to remind our readers of a stirring piece of literature ... G. K. Chesterton's epic poem Lepanto.  The poem commemorates the miraculous victory of Don Juan and the Catholic fleet over the Turks in 1571; a victory obtained through the intercession of Our Lady and a rosary crusade preached throughout Christendom by Pope St. Pius V.  If you are not familiar with the story or the poem, or if you'd just like to read it again, you can find it here.

Please remember our writers and staff in your rosaries during this month dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary (and the Angels!).  We have a few new things that we're almost ready to share with you ... stay tuned to the blog!

And don't forget to take our survey and/or send us your Christmas poetry, stories, and pictures for the December issue of The Voice of Valor~

1224

Nope ... that's not a history date (at least not one we know!) or the answer to a math question!  It's the number of views we've had on this blog.  We're pretty  excited about that...so thanks to all of you who are following our efforts and progress.  The number of responses to our Christmas survey is growing, too.  If you haven't taken it (only 4 questions!) please do ... click here!

Soon we hope to have a PayPal account set up and ready for ordering print copies online ... saving time from mailing a check to our P.O. address.  We'll keep you posted on that.

In the meantime, we're looking forward to your submissions of stories, poems, articles, and artwork for our December issue!  Send them to us at:  VoiceOfValor2012@gmail.com

Here's the rest

MAXIMUS ET MINIMUS -- In this column we present fun recipes and craft projects for readers with a creative interest!

TOTIDIEM VERBIS ---This section includes various lists of terms, phrases and trivia, connected to the theme.  There are Catholic vocabulary words, fun Latin words and phrases, and interesting trivia. 

ASK FATHER/SISTER SAYS --This column is a chance for readers to submit questions on faith or morals, which are then answered by a priest or a religious Sister.

YOUNG AUTHORS TODAY– These are articles, stories or poems submitted by writers from around the country.  They may or may not relate to the issue’s theme.  It is an attempt to encourage young writers and poets to develop their talent and share their great ideas.   Authors are encouraged to submit artwork or images to accompany their writing.

ARTWORK – Visual images are an important part of a magazine!  We are interested in showcasing original work (sketches, paintings, etc.) of young artists, as well as in finding people willing to draw/illustrate various articles or stories  in the magazine.

The List Continues...

Champions of Christ -- This section gives brief biographies of various saints, connecting some aspect of their history to the particular issue's theme.  They are role models upon which to build our own lives.  Each bio ends with a brief invocation to the saint. 

Saintly Critic – This column offers the opportunity to promote good literature or other forms of media.  It is an enticing introduction and promotion of a particular book, movie, etc.  Not intended to “give away” the storyline, the article is rather aimed at convincing readers to go out and see or read the movie or book.  The chosen item may or may not relate to the issue’s theme, and may be a Catholic story/movie or secular.

Tolle Lege  – Take and Read – This column includes reprints of forgotten Catholic authors and poets.  Like the Saintly Critic column, it is an attempt to promote good literature of the past to readers of today.

Continuing the list...

Three more columns of our magazine are summarized as follows:

Know Thyself  - This column is meant to deal with lighter issues connected to the issue theme.  It may include quizzes or self tests, or some other interactive element; it is a way to involve the reader and help him/her to better understand human nature. 

Ramparts of Fortitude-apologetics/defending the faith – This column provides answers to often-asked questions or criticisms of the Faith.  It is a support to help provide readers with the knowledge to defend what they believe, and to share the Faith with others.  The format is meant to be primarily question and answer.

Armor of Faith -sacramentals- In this column, readers learn about various sacramental which can serve as spiritual armor in our daily battle of good against evil.    The history of the sacramental, indulgences attached, proper use, etc. are discussed.   Whenever possible, the chosen sacramental might relate to the theme of the current magazine issue.