The Mystery of the Star of Bethlehem
For more than two millennia, the star of Bethlehem, which guided the Magi to the city where Jesus was born, has been arousing the curiosity of researchers worldwide.
December 31, 2021
For more than two millennia, the star of Bethlehem, which guided the Magi to the city where Jesus was born, has been arousing the curiosity of researchers worldwide.
Here’s how Catholic Vote begins its post: “Today more than ever we need courageous leaders; men and women who stand up in the face of the extraordinary pressures we all feel. Their example gives the rest of us the moral courage to persevere.”
Glory to God in the highest. Throughout our lives we sometimes need a reminder to get to the point or, in other words, to focus on what really matters. After the preparatory penitential act of the Mass, described in our last two articles, the gathered assembly gets “to the point” of the liturgy by offering praise and thanksgiving to God. We do this especially in the Gloria, a beautiful hymn which begins by repeating the song of the angels as they announced the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:14).
Is it possible to see God as our friend? Jesus says, I call you friends. If God calls us friends, then we ought to call God our friend. Certainly, God is not a “friend” like our virtual friends on social media. He is a real friend who loves and wills the best for us. But how do we communicate with the divine? It is done through prayer.
Each year, parishioners at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park arrive to midnight Mass in the dark of night to see a great light. The church is unlit, illumined solely by the stained-glass rose window of the Nativity – a reminder of the joy of that first Christmas when Christ, the light of the world, was born in a humble stable.
Homily for Christmas Mass During the Night, Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
The celebration of Christmas is unique. For the Nativity of the Lord, the Church gives us four different Masses to celebrate: the vigil Mass and the three traditional Masses of Christmas Day – “Mass during the night,” “Mass at dawn” and “Mass during the day.”
The Knights of Columbus teamed up with the Missionaries of Charity to bring warmth during this Advent season, distributing coats and hot meals at Immaculate Conception Chapel in the Mission District of San Francisco.
A glance back at Christmas one year ago, and a careful scrutiny of where we are now in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic – this is the atmosphere in which we find ourselves this month. Things continue to “open up” and life is more normal than one year ago, but we are cautioned to be prudent and maintain our vigilance. We are all like people walking on a frozen lake, gingerly touching the surface at each step before putting our full weight down. We long for less “virtual” encounters, more human, three-dimensional interactions. And yet we must keep our guard up.
You don’t have to be especially fare-minded to notice that the story of human salvation more or less begins and ends with a meal. From the forbidden bite of an apple in the Garden of Eden, to the central role of bread and wine at the Last Supper, Christianity and food have an intrinsic link.
The list of artists who have performed the most powerful of the Christmas hymns, “O Holy Night,” is extensive. Go down the YouTube rabbit hole, and you’ll find there’s even a heavy metal version, not to mention countless other artists who have dared to take it on, to varying results.
Kayla Crenshaw gained entrance to a tightly secured, city-run tent encampment not because she looks like she could be one of its homeless residents — she doesn’t —but in part, because she used to sleep on the surrounding streets herself.
Advent is my favorite liturgical season. Everything hinges on Easter, I know, for as St. Paul says, “if Christ has not been raised, our faith is in vain” (1 Cor 5:17) – but I do love Advent. The season of Advent, which begins the church’s liturgical year (not Jan. 1), sometimes get lost in the sprint between holidays. It seems like the Halloween and All Saints’ costumes have just gone away when Mariah Carey emerges from her summertime slumber and Christmas music, shopping and bright decorations dominate our senses until Christmas Day. One sympathizes with the Grinch – “oh the noise, noise, noise, noise!” It’s exhausting.
Homily for Chrism Mass By Most Rev. Salvatore Cordileone Archbishop of San Francisco March 26, 2015; St. Mary’s Cathedral Introduction Our annual celebration of this Chrism Mass occurs as Holy
Usted puede ser un ángel y su parroquia puede ser una multitud de ángeles. La participación de muchas parroquias es fundamental para el éxito de nuestro alcance arquidiocesano a las
The Christmas season can intensify the lows of our emotional and spiritual struggles. So, how do we navigate if we are experiencing anxiety and despair in our lives? How can we move from feeling helpless to hopeful?
Homily for the Cruzada Guadalupana, Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
Homilía para la Cruzada Guadalupana 4 de diciembre de 2021; Catedral de Santa María Introducción “Muchas naciones se unirán al Señor en aquel día; ellas también serán mi pueblo y
On the return flight from Greece, Pope Francis said that a second meeting with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is being organized.
“A meeting with Patriarch Kirill is not far on the horizon,” the pope said during a press conference aboard the papal plane on Dec. 6, the saint’s day of St. Nicholas.
During the pandemic, parishes innovated. Catholics attended livestream Masses and outdoor Masses in parking lots, on lawns and in school yards. Priests heard confessions through car windows at Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame, and homeless ministries made bag lunches and handed them out at the door of free dining rooms shut down by Covid-19. Bible studies went on Zoom.
Los padres SÍ tienen voz y voto sobre qué, si y cómo las escuelas públicas enseñan a sus hijos sobre el sexo. Los padres de niños que van a las