If during Advent we welcome Jesus and turn away the stranger at the door, we fail to live up to the promise of hope that we say stirs in us at Christmas. If we want to show the world the “true meaning of Christmas,” if we want to really “keep Christ in Christmas,” then we must let it find us loving and caring for each other. …
Tag: Christmas
Our children will only learn to yearn for the true meaning of Christmas and be people of faith when they see us living our Christianity in ways that reflect what Jesus taught his disciples. He taught not division and fear between strangers and enemies but embrace and forgiveness. He taught acceptance and care of “the other,” not judgement or disregard. He taught an authentic way to love and live that is an answer to this timeless question: Do we love …
This time of year, we gather in the holy light of one another. We light our candles and listen to the words and music. We look at each other and we look out on the world beyond us, and we wonder what it all means. Christmas is, perhaps above all else, about light. …
Here we are once again on the first Sunday of Advent, once again just weeks away from the celebration of the great solemnity of Christmas. Here we are once again entering into a period of preparation for the graces to be received as we contemplate what it means to have a God who is willing to come be on our level, to be Emmanuel and be with us. We are no longer in ordinary time, and it’s clear in today’s …
My next “Faith Perspectives” column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch appeared just in time for Christmas, a reminder (quoting Pope Francis) that “Thou Shall Not Steal” is about more than just not taking what doesn’t belong to us. You can read my column below or online here: http://bit.ly/2rQMm6U …
Thanks to you all for reading and responding this past year. Here's a little Christmas greeting for you that asks the important question: What is Christmas to you? Christmas to me, echoes the mystery The sacred holy night A grace so pure and bright. …
It’s almost Christmas. It’s the fourth week of advent. And we wait. But for what? …
The creative and artistic process requires a willingness to move beyond “I’m not really equipped for this and don’t yet have all the right experiences” to a simple “yes.” …
As we near Christmas, we recall both the woundedness of our lives and the joy of the birth of the Christ, who came to bind up our wounds, heal our brokenness and fill the empty spaces in our lives. …
This is the call to a life of active contemplation, to a life of listening for the voice of God and actually expecting to hear something. Not a sound, perhaps, but nevertheless a knowing, a sense of God’s presence and direction. …