As our Catholic funeral liturgy reminds us, for God’s faithful “life is changed, not ended” with bodily death; and by analogy we can also conclude that although the love of spouses may be changed into something different from specifically married love, this does not mean that this love no longer exists.

I like to think that God is waiting, trusting, walking with us, even when we feel we aren’t doing anything significant for the world.

This Advent presents an opportunity to increase our desire to emulate this great saint so loved by Our Lady and Our Savior.

Food can serve as a powerful force for forging deeper connections. Through the rituals of cooking and eating, we feed our friendships, creating lasting memories one bite at a time.

Thanksgiving is one of those few national holidays when a semi-religious sentiment is allowed.

That sense of joyful preparation combined with anticipation is the attitude we bring to Advent as we await the arrival of Christ the Lord.

As we look ahead to Advent, it almost feels as if nature is paving the way to that time, calling us to let the fading vibrancy of autumn go, and be open to the journey ahead. Change can be wonderful, but it can also be hard.

The shrug also helps us to remember that good people may disagree and still be good people, and that most of us are doing the best we can, by such light as we are given.

The Eucharist, as the source and summit of Christian life, has much to teach us about waiting.

The solution for competing solemnities is to transfer the liturgical celebration of the non-Sunday holy day to the first subsequent available date. Thus, in the year 2024, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated in our liturgy on Monday, Dec. 9.