On Christmas night the Gospel of Luke explains how the shepherds “went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16). Do we have a similar urgency to our faith? Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this passage during a Christmas
Sunday, Dec. 27, is the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Mass Readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128:1-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Luke 2:22-40. Last week, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we heard about the fidelity of God and his promise to David.
Every person’s life involves a story and a mystery. One of the reasons Christmas is such a poignant holiday for all, young and old alike, is that Christmas involves both a story and a mystery. What does it mean to say each human life is
“What is?” questions are of particular significance. When we see or hear of something before us or of something happening, we want to know what it is. We are not satisfied until we find out. Even if we cannot find out, we still want to know what
Pope St. Paul VI, on Christmas of 1971, said: God could have come wrapped in glory, splendor, light and power, to instill fear, to make us rub our eyes in amazement. But instead he came as the smallest, the frailest and weakest of beings. Why?
Pope Francis has written a Christmas letter to the people of Lebanon encouraging them to trust in God during times of crisis. “Beloved sons and daughters of Lebanon, I am deeply troubled to see the suffering and anguish that has sapped the native resilience and
On Tuesday, I walked into our kitchen early in the morning to start coffee for my husband and begin my daily morning prayers when I suddenly became paralyzed by excruciating pain. I could barely move and considered whether or not I needed to yell out
Many have called the Holy Land the “fifth Gospel” because there you can experience all of the principal events of the liturgical year in a little over a week. There are special Masses to be celebrated at each of the holy sites that take precedence
Among the tenured professorial skeptics, few Gospel episodes have been sliced, diced, and tossed to the dissecting room floor as “mythology” more often than the story of the Magi: the “wise men from the East [who] came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has
The first known nativity scene figurines are on display this Christmas in one of Rome’s oldest basilicas. The underground Chapel of the Nativity in the Basilica of St. Mary Major — known to Italians as Santa Maria Maggiore — once contained at least six marble
