Christina Rosetti’s poem, In the Bleak Midwinter, is a Christmas classic. “In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. . .” As Advent begins and the first wintry weather sets in, those words come to mind. As I write, today is such a day – gusty…
No one knows better how to prepare for welcoming Christ than the saints,writes Bert Ghezzi Advent prepares us for Jesus’ coming at Christmas and for his coming into our lives afresh. And no one knows how to get ready to welcome Christ better than the saints. They express their love for him by putting him…
Scott Richert When my sisters and I were young, my mother would spend all of Advent baking cookies and making candy. That may hardly seem remarkable; after all, countless millions of Christmas cookies are baked and consumed every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. But my mother didn’t eat any of the cookies she…
Sr Nancy Usselmann Though they’re gifts from God, living and working behind our media screens can sap our energy and leave us feeling listless and spiritually dry. Growing our spiritual lives while immersed in a digital world requires a media spirituality that centres us in Christ, the perfect communicator. Blessed James Alberione developed Pauline spirituality…
It’s important to understand God’s will properly, writes Emily Stimpson Chapman Question: Which of the following events were God’s will? The Fall of man? The Crucifixion? The most recent car accident you were in? Last month’s breakup with your significant other? Answer: They were all God’s will … at least in a way. How’s that…
Silvio Cuéllar The air is now filled with Christmas music, special offers and sales. This materialistic culture invites us to buy and buy the latest, newest thing. However, this Advent season can also be a time to share our time, talents, and treasure with others. Helping the poor In his recent homily for the World…
Fr Patrick Briscoe OP “Human beings possess a great and readily observable weakness for which they need much support and comfort,” says the Italian priest philosopher Luigi Giussani. “They have an endemic fear engendered by a temptation to reduce the total image of their lives to what can be visibly and materially experienced.” How we…
Learning how to thank God is not only spiritually fruitful but necessary, writes Bill Dodds Most of us were toddlers when we learned to say “please” and “thank you”. We were a little older when we fell into the habit of asking, begging, nagging, whining, “Please, please, please, please, ple-e-e-e-e-e-ease!” Older still when we began…
Deacon Dominic Cerrato In recent years, the Catholic Church in Germany embarked on an ambitious and controversial project known as the “German Synodal Way”. This initiative, which sought to address various issues within the Church, including governance, the role of women, and the Church’s teaching on sexuality, has stirred significant attention and debate within…
Fr Patrick Briscoe OP It felt like there was a seismic shift in Church teaching concerning transgenderism in recent weeks. And that’s because so many headlines got the story wrong. The New York Times, for example, reported: “Pope Francis, who has made reaching out to LGBTQ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has made clear…