Yellowstone, as everyone knows, is full of geisers, hot springs and other geological wonders, such as the one pictured here.

What most don't know is that Yellowstone is itself a volcano- one giant volcano.  In fact, the entire park is the crater of one supermassive volcano, the largest on the face of the Earth. 

They get earthquakes there a lot, and to get several small ones is no big deal for geologists and park rangers used to the place.  But in the past week or so, they've been getting "swarms" of quakes- up to 250 in a few days. 

"Swarms" of little quakes often is an indicator of an upcoming eruption.  We should all hope that is not the case- and here's why!

Today we honor Saint Thomas Becket, who was martyred on December 29 in the year 1170.

Thomas was a friend of the King, Henry II, and later became the leading Archbishop in England.  Henry wanted to issue several decrees giving himself a large degree of control over the Church.  Thomas resisted this openly and sternly, standing up to his old friend. 

Now enemies with the king, Thomas went into exile in France.  Henry didn't let it go, issuing edicts to exile all of Thomas' friends, relatives and those who had even worked under him, to France. 

The situation grew worse, and the Pope threatened to excommunicate Henry- meaning to cut him off from the Church and community with fellow Catholics.  Some of the other bishops in England took part in some actions that supported the king in this dispute.  They were excommunicated. 

The King of France tried to mediate the dispute, but Thomas would not concede Henry that he could control the Church, so Henry angrily rejected him.

Thomas finally returned to England with many others exiled with him.  Taking back his place as head of the local Catholic community, he was received as a hero by the populace, but tensions were still high with those loyal to Henry. 

In France at the time, Henry is reported to have shouted in rage, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"  This was taken by some of Henry's knights as an order, and off they went to find Thomas.  They found him preparing to lead evening prayer in the Cathedral at Canterbury.  The four men came into the church fully armed, confronting Thomas and demanding the bishops be absolved, calling Thomas a traitor for opposing the king's wishes.  Henry stood firm, refusing to back down.  He was hacked to death by the men, right there inside the Cathedral.

Reaction in England and throughout Europe was huge.  Thomas became a hero, his story spreading like a wildfire.  Henry later repented, going barefoot to be scourged in front of Thomas' tomb, for all of the people to see. 

Thomas is an example of tremendous courage and staunch determination.  And what's more are his words, showing he knew the path we are called to walk is difficult:

"Remember the sufferings of Christ, the storms that were weathered... the crown that came from those sufferings which gave new radiance to the faith... All saints give testimony to the truth that without real effort, no one ever wins the crown."

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality that the children could remember.

The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ

Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love

The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament

The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit

1. Prophesy
2. Serving
3. Teaching
4. Exhortation
5. Contribution
6. Leadership
7. Mercy

The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self Control

The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments

The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed

So there's your history lesson for today.

SOURCE: MERCOLA.COM

Have a great Christmas everybody.

Rejoice you who are just. It is the birthday of him who justifies. Rejoice you who are weak and sick. It is the birthday of him who makes people well. Rejoice you who are in captivity. It is the birthday of the Redeemer. Rejoice you who are slaves. It is the birthday of the Master.

Rejoice you who are free. It is the birthday of him who makes us free. Rejoice all you Christians. It is Christ's birthday. -St. Augustine

For the last few days of Advent, there is an ancient tradition of the "O Antiphons."  An antiphon is a "verse of song to be chanted in response," that is, a prayer to be said together with other people.  The "O Antiphons" are so named because all of them start with "O", as you will see.  These have been posted late, but definitely take a couple minutes out to go through these, possibly even several a day (perhaps before meals)- they're very brief, and if you take a moment out of your day to pray them with as much heartfelt meaning as possible, it just might help you get truly ready to celebrate Christ's birth.

December 17th: O WISDOM, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

December 18th: O LORD AND RULER of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come, and redeem us with outstretched arm.

December 19th: O ROOT OF JESSE, who stands for an ensign of the people, before whom kings shall keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: Come to deliver us, and tarry not.

December 20th: O KEY OF DAVID, and Scepter of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens: Come, and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.

December 21st: O DAWN OF THE EAST, brightness of the light eternal, and Sun of Justice: Come, and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

December 22nd: O KING OF THE GENTILES and their desired One, the Cornerstone that makes both one: Come, and deliver man, whom You formed out of the dust of the earth.

December 23rd: O EMMANUEL, God with us, our King and Lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Savior: Come to save us, O Lord our God.

Advent begins this week.  Advent is almost always spent by most people (yours truly included) frantically buying gifts, groceries, decorations, etc., preparing for a celebration that has truly lost its meaning.  Today even athiest groups consider Christmas a secular holiday, declaring it bereft of any religious meaning. 

Let's reject that, rebelling against the secularism society shoves down our throats.  Let's return to the meaning of Christmas and Advent, by preparing ourselves to be more receptive to Christ.

Old fashioned Christmas and Advent traditions are steeped in meaning, deeply rooted in the simple truth that Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth, and that Advent is a time to best prepare for such a big deal! 

DailyStrong will be doing its part by keeping up it's daily meditations, and by providing resources for families and individuals to take part in prayerful preparation for a truly holy, happy Christmas. 

For a start, download the PDF file attached to this post (click "1 attachment" below) It's available to registered users only, but registration is free!  It's a basic guide of the old fashioned Advent Wreath; blessings and prayers to be used with it.  Enjoy!

Many DailyStrong readers will recall that some time ago we interviewed Steven Marquis about his lawsuit to have President-Elect Obama's birth certificate verified. This was one of over a dozen federal lawsuits over this issue. Most of the media ignored the very presence of these suits, and those that did comment treated the issue as though it was coming from UFO-watchers. However, one of the suits is being discussed by the nine Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court today.

Here's a brief explanation of what's happening today, from the website of Mr. Berg, the man carrying out this lawsuit.

Objectively, the accusations are either true or false. It certainly can't hurt anything to get to the bottom of this and determine one way or another.  The Justices are meeting "in conference" about this today.  Let's see what happens!

Merrill Lynch predicts that if the global recession spreads to China, the price of oil will fall below $25 a barrell, and gas would cost less than $1/gallon!  Hey, maybe a recession's not all bad, right?

Click here for full story.

Bad news from India- reports that the hostages at the Jewish center in Mumbai were all killed.  They were probably killed by the terrorists before the heroic raid attempting to rescue them.

This had to be a huge undertaking for the Indian police and military, with so many hostages in huge complexes, in multiple places at once. 

Pray for those commandos, soldiers and policemen's safety today, and that they accomplish their mission!

We've done some simple things to improve the site. One of them is that it's easier to comment on posts now, including the mental puzzles. So once you're registered (totally free, we don't even send those annoying emails around), you can post your answers, comments, whatever, on everything with one click!