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 that we have a lot more time to plan and accomplish things. Where do you start? Think about the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
"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...
“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...
“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...
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...
“Behold, goodness and kindness has appeared, the humanity of God our Savior” (Tit 3,4 Vg). Thanks be to God, through whose mercy in this our pilgrimage, in this our banishment, in this our state of misery, has also greatly increased our consolation… Before his...
Christmas songs often start playing the week before Thanksgiving and since for Catholics the Christmas season won't end until The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January, we need to get creative when it comes to listening to good Christmas music. Though so many of...
“O what a novel and wonderful mystery! John has not yet been born but already he gives voice with his bounds; he has not yet appeared but already he manifests signs of his presence; he cannot yet cry and already he is heard through what he does; as yet he has not...
Important feasts such as Christmas require great preparation. Catholics throughout the ages have creatively come up with all sorts of ways to do so, many of which are symbolic. The tradition of the church incorporates material symbols because they help us get a better...
Saint Nicholas is not a jolly, chubby man dressed in red who brings gifts and lives in the North Pole. And while there are many popular versions to his story, today, we want to introduce you to who this great saint known as “Santa Claus” really was. This saint was a...
Where has the time gone? We are already ending Week 3 of Advent. Hopefully you have taken the time to pray, reflect, and prepare for the Birth of Christ. If you are a Catholic active on social media, you have probably noticed that many of your favorite Catholic...
The video we are presenting in today’s post, #ManontheMoon, offers us a beautiful story that helps us to remember some of the essential attitudes for this Advent Season. This is the story of a girl named Lily. One night, when she looked at the moon through her...
“Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am glad to welcome you at the General Audience a few days before the celebration of the Lord’s Birth. The greeting on everyone’s lips in these days is “Happy Christmas! Best wishes for the Christmas festivities!”. Let us ensure that in...
Gospel of the Luke 3: 10-18 The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they...
If you are a Catholic active on social media, you have probably noticed that many of your favorite Catholic websites are offering daily Advent reflections. How do you decide what to read or watch when there are so many wonderful options? Catholic Link to the...
“What man knows all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ and concealed in the poverty of his flesh? Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich. When he made mortality his own and made...
“Where there is love, light shines forth in the world; where there is hatred, the world remains in darkness. In the stable of Bethlehem there appeared the great light which the world awaits. In that Child lying in the stable, God has shown his glory – the glory of...