In paragraph 30 of his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis wrote, “Every family should look to the icon of the Holy Family of Nazareth”. As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, God’s word invites reflection on the joys, responsibilities and challenges of family life in the light of Christian faith and discipleship.
“For the son of God became man so that we might become God” and “… might make men gods”. I am to become GOD? That doesn’t seem right.
The 20th Century was one of history’s most violent and war-torn, marked by atheistic, anti-human revolutions and ideologies that continue today.
The Church offers us a richer way to celebrate Christmas, writes Amy Welborn For Catholics, great feasts like Christmas don’t come at us out of the blue: In the secular world, ‘Christmas’ seems to start in October! However, our approach to this holiday as Catholics must be different, and it can be. We can put…
John Mulderig One promising way to get in the holiday mood is to watch a Christmas-themed movie. And, since yuletide films naturally tend to qualify as family-friendly, they can also provide an opportunity to gather the clan, make some popcorn and relax together. Following, in alphabetical order, are capsule reviews of eight such pictures with…
The Gospel stories about the birth of Jesus are not a simple retelling of the events that took place then, at the stable in Bethlehem. In his commentaries on the birth of Jesus, the renowned scripture scholar, Raymond Brown, highlights that these narratives were written long after Jesus had already been crucified and had risen…
A two-point question: It is common to hear, ‘It’s a miracle,’ for a sports comeback victory. Does the Church actually have a definition of a miracle? When it comes to canonisation, miracles are required, aren’t they? Does a miracle happen in other domains except health and medicine? A miracle is an extraordinary phenomenon that cannot…
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…
The Sunday Gospel 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29 Rom 16:25-27 Lk 1:26-38 Do you hear it? If there is one message the world needs right now, in a moment of high anxiety and seemingly unending wars, you can find it buried deep in this beautiful Gospel for the 4th…
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…
Ruadhán Jones
Fr Ronald Rolheiser