Spirituality
‘O Holy Night’: A carol for the weary
This song isn't just a carol but a hymn of worship in which we remember how Jesus broke into the stillness of a small town, and all of time, to descend to a sinful humanity. We sing at Christmas what we prayed during Advent: Come Lord Jesus, come.
A meditation on Mary’s heart at the Nativity
Cassandra Palmer imagines Mary, contemplatively nursing baby Jesus, keeping the events of the Nativity in her heart, praying for her people all the way through the crucifixion and beyond Pentecost into eternity.
Christmas: In God’s presence
Father Herb Weber explains the birth of Jesus as the ultimate sign of hope, which is not a construct of mind but all about reality. The reality of our COVID fears, our polarized times and our loneliness meet the God who is truly with us, now.
Amid the darkness, the real Star shines
The world may do its best to disinvite Jesus from his own birthday party at Christmas, but the Son of God radiates his saving love through our clouded skies, writes Gina Christian.
At Advent, a ‘world charged’ shines in Hopkins’ poem ‘God’s Grandeur’
Nicole Perone unwraps her favorite poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins and finds how the God who loves us chooses, over and over, to break into our mess to dig out the "dearest freshness deep down things" amid our lived reality.
St. Ephrem on Mary, ‘a cause for wonder’
The fourth century saint and poet was a bridge between East and West. Maureen Pratt points to his poem on Mary as a young mother while giving a sense of the awesome nature of Mary's baby, fully divine and fully human.
Advent’s paradox of time
If you feel wistful for the Christmases of childhood, the memory of young children, loved ones lost and footprints washed away, don't feel guilty, advises Effie Caldarola. Just be silent and await the future, and the coming of God.
Readings of the Holy Mass – Fourth Sunday of Advent
Read, listen to or watch videos of the Mass readings with these resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, using the New American Bible, Revised Edition.
Jesus, the light, is coming to dispel darkness with peace
Reflecting on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Msgr. Joseph Prior recounts the kinds of darkness in our lives and times, and how the birth of Jesus gives everyone the opportunity to open our hearts and respond to him with faith.
As Advent ends, silence of Christmas Eve becomes a presence
Cathy Peacock notes the “solemn stillness” in the night before we mark the Savior’s birth at Christmas, and with it, access to God’s saving love and guidance. She reminds all in the coming Christmas season to listen to Christ.