During the holiday season, it’s so very easy to get caught up in the pretty packages, Christmas movies, hot cocoa, and the endless lists filled with names of all the people dear to us that it’s easy to forget what we are celebrating. While these things are wonderful,...
Advent
TXTMAS: What If The Angel Gabriel Sent His Messages Via Text?!
TXT Stories has created this cute video that imagines how things would have gone if the Angel Gabriel had communicated via text message. Of course, this isn't accurate, but it is funny, and it might be just the thing some of us need to take our minds off of Christmas...
It’s the Loneliest Time of the Year… So What Are You Going to Do About It?
Mary was “set apart” for a very specific mission. Sometimes, I feel set apart, too. You know, set apart from friends on a Friday night, watching and memorizing my favorite 90’s rom coms for... well, I’m sure I’ll need those quotes one day. Or out to dinner with my...
7 Advent And Christmas Carol Quotes That You Can Pray With This Season
One of the wonderful things about both the Advent and Christmas seasons is the abundance of beautiful hymns and carols. They’re made more special by the fact that they can only be sung once a year! But even so, we can still be overly familiar with some of the more...
5 Ways To Prepare The Way Of The Lord: An Advent Spiritual Exercise
Advent is a time to prepare your heart for Jesus' coming at Christmas, as well as to prepare others around you to receive Him as their Savior. Especially with the non-Catholics and non-Christians in your life, how can you use this season of grace to help others open...
3 Thought Experiments To Unleash Glory In Your Life
Advent is a wonderful time to examine your heart and your prayer life, and to make small changes that can set you on a new trajectory of hope in the year ahead. We invite you to watch Father's video, then prayerfully read the Gospel and reflection. We pray that this...
Starting A New Season Of Your Life | Catholic Bible Study
“He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.” ~ Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Every path needs a starting point. In order to leave port, a ship must lose its mooring; in order...
A Breathtaking Image Of The Immaculate Conception
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo painted this stunning depiction of the Virgin Mary in 1767-1768. The work was part of a project of seven altarpieces commissioned by King Charles III of Spain for the new Church of San Pascual, under construction in Aranjuez. A Breathtaking...
Official Catholic Blessing For Your Christmas Tree
Have your Christmas tree all set up? Take some time as Family to ask for God's blessing over it! The use of the Christmas tree is relatively modern. Its origins are found in the medieval mystery plays that depicted the tree of paradise and the Christmas light or...
Official Blessing For Your Christmas Manger And Nativity Scene
Once you have your Nativity Scene all set up, take some time to ask for God's blessing as a family. In its present form, the custom of displaying figures depicting the birth of Jesus Christ owes its origin to St. Francis of Assisi, who made the Christmas crèche or...
The Meaning Of Life Hangs On A Promise Already Kept | Catholic Bible Study
“Man is a rope stretched between the animals and the 'overman'” ~ Nietzsche Anthony De Melo once asked, “What is the difference between a sinner and a saint?” Smiling, he responded, “None! They are both sinners; it’s just that the saint knows it.” We spend a great...
5 (FREE!) Advent Resources That Will Help You Focus On Jesus
This year's Advent season will be the shortest possible Advent. With Christmas on a Monday, the fourth week of Advent is only one day! This means that you need to make the most of your twenty-two days of preparation for the Birth of Christ. We have five incredible...
5 Ways To Make Ordinary Time Less Ordinary
Ordinary Time doesn’t have to be so ordinary. It can be just as prayerful, meaningful and productive as any of the liturgical times of the church year. The difference is, we have a lot more time to plan and accomplish things. Where do you start? Think about the things...
Here’s The Nativity Play That We All Need To See This Christmas
This short video from Speak Life shares a brief but beautiful insight into the life of a mother and her daughter Leeva, who has Down’s syndrome. Leeva is taking part in a Nativity play, and all her cast-mates also have Down’s syndrome. It is explained that the play...
Emma Stone and SNL Show Us How Mary Could Have Responded on Christmas
On rare occasions, Saturday Night Live teaches us important lessons through the use of comedy. Earlier this month Emma Stone played the role of Mary in a Nativity scene. The skit shows Mary getting annoyed with the circumstances of Christ's birth, concerned about her...
Delightful Muppet Parodies Of The Christmas Story
Whether it be to bring a little joy to do your day or lighten up your talk about the Advent season, this delightful parody tells the Christmas story in a new and unique way. The video was produced by Puppetunes, a place for Biblical, downloadable song parodies. The...
This Intricate Animated Video On The Life Of Christ Is Incredibly Beautiful
One solitary life. It was full of failure, and it ended in a premature and shameful death. There were no career accolades, family, or world acclaim. Just a life that was born into an enemy occupation, grew up in a working-class trade, lived at home, and ended with a...
The Tragic Chapecoense Plane Crash Reminds Us That Life Can Be Taken In An Instant
Full disclosure – I am not Brazilian. I’m only just starting to appreciate soccer, so I can’t really call myself a fan. I had never heard of the Chapecoense team before I woke up on Tuesday morning and read an article in Portuguese saying that a plane carrying them...
25 Names Of Jesus To Use In Prayer This Christmas
There is power in the name of Jesus. When we call on His name, He comes to our aid, helps us, heals us, surrounds us with His love, grace, and mercy. It is the shortest and simplest prayer we can utter, yet it provides us with more than we could ever ask for. There...
5 Reasons Why I Used To Hate Advent And Why I Don’t Now
Growing up Catholic, Advent was always strictly observed in our home. We never skipped over it to start Christmas early. Though I had a good idea of the purpose of Advent- it being a time of preparation and prayer- I made my way though it grimly. I understood the head...
Is There Perhaps Something Of Herod In Us?
Perhaps the way to become better acquainted with these Magi and to understand their desire to let themselves be guided by God’s signs is to pause to consider what they find on their journey, in the great city of Jerusalem.First of all they met King Herod. He was...
Live All That The Nativity Represents In Your Daily Life | Pope Benedict XVI Quote
"It gives me great joy to know that the custom of creating a crib scene has been preserved in your families. Yet it is not enough to repeat a traditional gesture, however important it may be. It is necessary to seek to live in the reality of daily life that the crib...
Where Does Christ Dwell? | St. Gregory Nazianzen Quote
“Christ is born, glorify him. Christ from heaven, go out to meet him. Christ on earth; exalt him: “Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice !” (Ps 96:1.11), for him who is of heaven and now of earth. Christ has made his dwelling...
God Chose To Be Known By Us | St. Peter Chrysologus Quote
“In the mystery of our Lord’s incarnation there were clear indications of his eternal Godhead. Yet the great events we celebrate today disclose and reveal in different ways the fact that God himself took a human body. Mortal man, enshrouded always in darkness, must...
10 Great Quotes To Help You Reflect On The True Meaning Of Christmas
Sometimes it can feel as though we live two separate Christmas experiences. One is an endless round of parties, presents, food and socializing, the bright lights, late nights and overindulging at the forefront. The other Christmas experience is the truth and beauty of...