ROME SHOT 890 – Merry Christmas!
In some places EPIPHANY is the big gift giving day, for obvious reasons. Please remember me when EPIPHANY shopping online. Thanks in advance. US HERE – UK HERE These links take you to a generic “catholic” search in Amazon. Amazon remembers that you … Read More →
The Third Joyful Mystery: The Birth of Jesus Christ
Sandro Botticelli, “Mystic Nativity,” 1500 Why did God become man? Because man needed him and God loved him.
Jesuit Astronomer Remembers the First Christmas in Space
Frank Borman/NASA The first photograph taken by humans of Earthrise during Apollo 8, Dec. 24, 1968 By Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 reached lunar orbit.
Midnight Mass in Bethlehem: Patriarch Addresses Gazan Christians, Calls for End to War
Marinella Bandini The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presides over the Christmas midnight Mass in the Church of St. Catherine in Bethlehem. With him, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal envoy, H. E. Adolfo Tito Yllana, apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine, and the bishops of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem concelebrated, Dec. 25. The […]
Pope Francis: Christmas Message Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World) (Vatican Press Office)
“Dear brothers and sisters, merry Christmas!” Pope Francis said in his Urbi et Orbi message, delivered to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Christmas Day (video). “The eyes and the hearts of Christians throughout the world turn to Bethlehem; in these days, it is a place of sorrow and silence, yet it was there […]
Pope Francis on Christmas: Saying ‘Yes’ to the Prince of Peace Means Saying ‘No’ to War
National Catholic Register Pope Francis delivers his annual address on Christmas from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 25. ‘Let us open our hearts to him who is Savior, the Prince of Peace!’ the Pope said in his annual address.
O Little Town of Bethlehem… Pennsylvania? The story of ‘Christmas City USA’
Standing 100 feet tall, the Christmas Star overlooks the little town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (aka “Christmas City, USA”). / Credit: A. Strakey/Flickr CNA Staff, Dec 25, 2023 / 07:00 am (CNA). There are at least 18 cities and towns in the United States named Bethlehem, but one of the first and perhaps the most famous […]
Pope Francis on Christmas: Saying ‘yes’ to the Prince of Peace means saying ‘no’ to war
Pope Francis delivers his annual “urbi et orbi” address on Christmas from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 25, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 25, 2023 / 08:33 am (CNA). On the birthday of the Prince of Peace,… […]
Midnight Mass in Bethlehem: Patriarch addresses Gazan Christians, calls for end to war
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presides over the Christmas Midnight Mass in the Church of St. Catherine in Bethlehem. With him, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal envoy, H. E. Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Dele… […]
Unwrapping the Twelve Days of Christmas
This is the story of the Twelve Days of Christmas, a period that bridges the joy of Christ’s birth with the revelation of His divinity to the world. The story begins with the birth of Christ on Christmas Day, a moment that holds a central place in Catholic theology. Here, the divine intersects with the […]