Just a little longer...

We have had a few unexpected little details to deal with before getting the latest issue to readers.... things like sick staff members and equipment changes (major ones!) at the printer.  But nothing that will take too terribly long, we hope.  Stay tuned for the March issue in just a couple more days!

Only days away ...

Our new issues is just days away from publication!  Copies are in the hands of our proof readers now, and we hope to have the issue ready before the end of the weekend.  Say a prayer for that intention ... 

You'll see a couple of fun new items inside our pages, as well as the results of our Lenten Survey.  

Stay tuned!  And by the way ... have you ordered your subscription yet?  What are you waiting for? 

2511 and 13

Numbers again!  

Yes ... the first and bigger number - 2511 - is our page views so far!  So exciting to watch that number grow.  Please keep sharing our blog with friends and family.

The second and smaller number - 13 - is the number of responses to our Lenten survey.  We only have about another week to collect data for that, so if you haven't already entered your responses to our two questions, please do soon!

And another thing that has nothing to do with numbers.  Can you guess what our new color will be for the March issue?  We're not telling just yet ... but you'll soon see, as the blog gets updated before the issue comes out!

Ash Wednesday

It all begins ... the season when Catholics world-wide unite in their efforts to do a little extra for Jesus, who gave His ALL for us!  We have a new survey, to find out what everyone is doing for Our Lord this Lent.  CLICK HERE to participate ... it'll only take a second, as there are only two questions!

Newsletter!

Only three weeks until our March issue will be ready!  For news and information, click on the NEWSLETTER tab above!

It's official!

... Yes, our magazine continues to develop.  Regular subscribers will find some new and interesting items in the March issue.  We're excited about that issue for several reasons ... one of which is that it will mark the completion of our first year of publishing The Voice of Valor! 

Actually, have quite a few ideas for upcoming issues, thanks to the number of creative young people getting involved.  We can't tell you all of them just yet ... but we will, little by little!

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback.  If there is something you particularly like about a previous issue or the magazine in general, or if you have an idea or thought to suggest for a future issue, let us know!  You can contact us via email at VoiceOfValor2012@gmail.com  Or, feel free to post a question here on the blog (they can be anonymous!)

Please continue to share our magazine and blog with family and friends.  It is our goal for as many people as possible to hear The Voice!

Blessed Epiphany!

This beautiful feast, "Little Christmas" as it is sometimes called, has inspired many an artist and poet.  Here is the poem composed for the feast by H. W. Longfellow:

The Three Kings (Longfellow)

Three Kings came riding from far away,
Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they,
And they travelled by night and they slept by day,
For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

The star was so beautiful, large and clear,
That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere,
And by this they knew that the coming was near
Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows,
Three caskets of gold with golden keys;
Their robes were of crimson silk with rows
Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,
Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees.

And so the Three Kings rode into the West,
Through the dusk of the night, over hill and dell,
And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast,
And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,
With the people they met at some wayside well.

"Of the child that is born," said Baltasar,
"Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;
For we in the East have seen his star,
And have ridden fast, and have ridden far,
To find and worship the King of the Jews."

And the people answered, "You ask in vain;
We know of no King but Herod the Great!"
They thought the Wise Men were men insane,
As they spurred their horses across the plain,
Like riders in haste, who cannot wait.

And when they came to Jerusalem,
Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,
Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;
And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem,
And bring me tidings of this new king."

  So they rode away; and the star stood still,
The only one in the grey of morn;
Yes, it stopped --it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
The city of David, where Christ was born.

And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.

And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The child, that would be king one day
Of a kingdom not human, but divine.

His mother Mary of Nazareth
Sat watching beside his place of rest,
Watching the even flow of his breath,
For the joy of life and the terror of death
Were mingled together in her breast.

They laid their offerings at his feet:
The gold was their tribute to a King,
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,
The myrrh for the body's burying.

And the mother wondered and bowed her head,
And sat as still as a statue of stone,
Her heart was troubled yet comforted,
Remembering what the Angel had said
Of an endless reign and of David's throne.

Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,
With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;
But they went not back to Herod the Great,
For they knew his malice and feared his hate,
And returned to their homes by another way.