The church does not have any explicit rule about when the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” can be sung. In principle, it’s perfectly allowed to sing this throughout Advent. However, I think I can guess why your choir director wants to hold off on using this hymn until later in the season.

Leo’s papacy, of nine months gestation, has revealed itself slowly — full of hope but also hidden, as though the first pope from the United States meant to show himself in small, unhurried measures.

As modern technology continues to offer interventions impacting the appearance of the human body, the question remains of where humans get their identity.

God doesn’t wait for us to get our spiritual act together before he moves on our behalf. He just asks us to turn toward him with whatever we’ve got, however inadequate it feels.

During Thanksgiving week, a group of 25 young adults from Iskali went into our neighborhoods carrying groceries, rosaries and a desire to draw close to families shaken by immigration detentions, deportations and loss.

Even after nearly 2,000 years, we still have trouble fully appreciating the beautiful church teaching about the conception of Mary.

When we have empathy for the least of these immigrants and refugees — without regard to their legal status — we have empathy for Jesus.

When it’s Christmastime in the city, Christ’s presence can still loom larger than any skyscraper, draw big crowds and applause, and shine brighter than any light.

True friendship reflects the relationship of the Trinity which is irreplaceable by technology.

Cedric Dickens, Charles Dickens’ great grandson, talks about the significance of the hot, boozy beverage and its place in the closing scene of “A Christmas Carol” in the introduction of his book “Drinking with Dickens”: