Glory to the newborn King December 22, 2024By Scott P. Richert OSV News Filed Under: Christmas, Commentary Even today, when our virtual “connections” have led to the widespread destruction of face-to-face and day-to-day literal connections, our hearts still long for the ties that George Bailey strained so long against.
Christmas silence December 21, 2024By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Christmas, Commentary Maybe silence, especially at a time of the year so filled with what the Grinch referred to as “NOISE, NOISE, NOISE” can be the way we can encounter Christ in a more meaningful way.
Why I’m spending Christmas in Bethlehem this year December 20, 2024By Father Patrick Briscoe OSV News Filed Under: Christmas, Commentary, Conflict in the Middle East The small, struggling city where Jesus Christ was born holds a deeper urgency — and a quiet, heartbreaking beauty.
Opening up bricked-in doors December 20, 2024By Jaymie Stuart Wolfe Filed Under: Commentary, Jubilee 2025 Splendor and reverence are largely absent from our daily lives, and mostly abandoned by the dominant secular culture that casualizes almost everything.
A eucharistic Word: Christmas December 19, 2024By Michael R. Heinlein OSV News Filed Under: Advent, Christmas, Commentary Keeping Christ in Christmas, or in any other day for that matter, is really the challenge of a eucharistic lifestyle. Our words are meaningless and empty when they are not upheld by our personal conformity in all we think, say and do.
Getting adult children to Christmas Mass December 19, 2024By Greg Erlandson OSV News Filed Under: Christmas, Commentary, Marriage & Family Life It’s a tough time to be a Catholic parent these days. While there are some young adults who are embracing their Catholicism, often even its most traditional manifestations, the much larger number of Catholic younger adults have at best a tenuous connection with the faith of their father and mother.
Up on the Housetop December 18, 2024By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Advent, Blog, Commentary, Open Window I must have been about 5 or 6 that Christmas Eve. My grandmother was spending the night so she could wake up with all of us on Christmas morning. To make sure that Grandma had a bed, my oldest sister Maureen and I slept on the third floor of our Rodgers Forge townhouse. We were […]
Tolkien’s world, still popular on the big screen, began with faith and words December 18, 2024By Cecilia Hadley OSV News Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Books, Commentary J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth — the world of “The Lord of the Rings” and now the new animated film “The War of the Rohirrim” — was born, first and foremost, from Tolkien’s intense and lifelong love for language.
Question Corner: What is the point of the Mass reading about the genealogy of Jesus? December 18, 2024By Jenna Marie Cooper OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner God uses the lowly, the humble and the unexpected to achieve his purposes. It perfectly sets the stage for the greatest “surprise” of all, that the King of Kings should come to us in humble circumstances, born of a virgin and laid in a manger.
Every dawn an Advent, every day a New Year December 16, 2024By Laura Kelly Fanucci OSV News Filed Under: Advent, Commentary Each day we stand before the doors of chronos and kairos. We can enter into the frantic, fast-paced, nonstop rush of consumerist culture, with its endless urgent cries of “buy, buy, buy” and “more, more, more.” Or we can turn and open another door, the quieter way of faith.
A beginner’s guide to prayer for Catholics December 15, 2024By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Worship & Sacraments God loves us more than we can imagine. He wants us to get to know and love him as a Father. Like any loving parent, he wants to spend time talking with his children. The following are answers to commonly asked questions about prayer.
Spending Advent with St. Joseph December 14, 2024By Rita Buettner Catholic Review Filed Under: Advent, Blog, Commentary, Open Window As a woman and mother, I sometimes feel like I should feel close to Mary during Advent. And I do. But I often find myself looking more to St. Joseph. In so many ways, his story is similar to our stories. He’s thrust into a situation he couldn’t have anticipated. He considers backing out and […]
