‘Why is the manger so important? Because it is the sign, and not by chance, of Christ’s coming into this world. It is how he announces his coming.’
Christmas
Posted inArts & Culture, Podcasts
Podcast: The Christmas carols we love—and love to hate
On a special Christmas episode of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley discuss the meaning of Christmas hymns and share their favorite (and least favorite) holiday songs and movies.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Is ‘Joy to the World’ really right for Christmas?
Something has started, something good, and we are going to be a part of it. But what is it exactly? Wait and see.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
The Nativity’s reminder: God isn’t just for us. God is with us.
At Christmas we can rejoice in a uniquely rich and mysterious gift, the new personal presence of “God with us.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Baking, gardening and puppies: A guide to the comfort watching you need this holiday season
My go-to for holiday comfort is generally British TV shows. Any TV trip to the U.K. feels instantly like a vacation.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
‘Longest Night’ services bring comfort to Catholics dealing with loss this Christmas season
Coinciding with the winter solstice, the Longest Night is a prayer service aimed at offering comfort to people who struggle with the in-your-face, over-the-top joy sometimes demanded during the Christmas season.
Posted inFaith, The Good Word
A night when silence says it all
In the Gospel, the passion accounts are dramas. The infancy stories are tableaus. They simply want us to see something.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
An invitation to God’s party: On the meaning of Christmas
George W. Hunt, S.J., editor in chief of America from 1984 to 1998, wrote about some of our nation’s most famous authors. But he was a gifted writer himself, as seen in his many Christmas essays for the magazine.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
It’s not too late to go to confession before Christmas—and there’s nothing more important you can do
I have a confession to make: I have not been to confession yet this Advent. Every year, I bug people to go sometime during the season, and I think most of my family has been. But I have not yet gone myself.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
‘In the Bleak Midwinter’: Christmas carols don’t have to sound joyful to turn our hearts to Jesus
Where a lot of Catholic Christmas hymns lean into the more fantastical elements—angels, stars, kings—“In the Bleak Midwinter” points us instead to the ordinary.