A Christmas theme that has always fascinated me is the Bethlehem innkeeper who encounters Joseph and a very pregnant Mary looking for a place to stay after traveling some 90 miles from Nazareth on a donkey. It is such a powerful image. It is easy to portray the innkeeper as a cold-hearted villain who ignores
FINE’NA NA TINAITAI Mi 5, 1-4a Un tinaitai ginin i Lepblun i Prufeta as Micah Taiguini ilek-ña i Saina: Hågu, iya Belen-Ephrathah mampus dikiki’ para un såonåo gi rasan Hudah, Ginin hagu nai para u huyung para Guåhu unu ni para u ma’gåsi iya Israhet; Guiya ni tutuhon-ña desdi åntis na tiempu, desdi i
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The annual unveiling of the Vatican’s Christmas tree and Nativity scene brought some much-needed warmth to people’s hearts as winter approached. Hundreds of people in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 7 applauded as white curtains unfurled, revealing a 52-foot wide artistic representation of Jesus’ birth made entirely of sand and dubbed the
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — After more than a century, the United States government has returned three church bells swiped by American forces as war booty from the central Philippine town of Balangiga. Ucanews.com reported that, after years of repeated demands for their return, the bells were brought home aboard a U.S. military plane Dec. 11.
ROME (CNS) — In the heart of Rome, near streets of fancy shops already blinged out for Christmas shopping, Pope Francis prayed for Romans struggling to survive and for families in the city and around the world who face the same lack of welcome that Mary and Joseph experienced. The pope concluded his public celebration
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (CNS) — To find Catholics who have left the church, start looking at the faces in the pews, according to a recent report. A 2018 study on young adults leaving the Catholic Church found people stopped identifying as Catholics at a median age of 13, long before they ceased attending a parish.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Advent is a time for people to think about what they can change about themselves so that they can sow the seeds of peace, justice and fraternity in their daily lives, Pope Francis said. The Advent season is a call for personal conversion, “humbly recognizing our mistakes, our infidelities, our failure”
Occasional breeze blows inside Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church to the delight of the crowd which packed the Cathedral despite the afternoon heat. They were there to honor Our Lady, the Immaculate Concepcion. This annual celebration has already been part of the local tradition of the diocese that no matter the circumstances, the faithful
It is so easy to become caught in the trap of considering some people as “winners” and others as “losers.” It has become such a common way of talking, even if it is meant only as a joke, that we hardly think of it anymore. As president of Caritas Internationalis, the global federation of national
Someone shared the story about a husband who introduced his family to his guests at a party. After introducing his two sons and two daughters-in-law, he said; “ and of course, here is my beautiful wife, she is the Law.” Does your computer or cellphone control you? God had gifted us with wonderful social media
