My favorite carols are often among the least known.
Christmas
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
An unexpected focus for Gaudete Sunday: A homily on sin
This week on “Preach,” the Rev. Justin Lopina joins host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to discuss how John the Baptist’s call to repentance in the Gospel for Gaudete Sunday leads to joy more than simply moral obligations.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
How a 4th-century poem combating heresies became a Christmas carol
Discover how a 4th-century poem by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius to respond to Christian heresies evolved into “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” by the 19th century.
Posted inFaith
‘The Little Drummer Boy’ reminds us we all have gifts to share this Advent
The Advent season prepares us for the incredibly humble journey of Jesus’ birth. This carol provides another dimension of this humility.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
The little drummer boy is never mentioned in the Bible. Where did the Christmas carol story come from?
On this episode of “Hark!”, we follow a figure the Bible never mentions, but whose bold gift leads us straight to the heart of Christmas. This is the story of “The Little Drummer Boy.”
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
The music of the magi: Exploring the history behind ‘We Three Kings’
To kick off the fourth season of “Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols,” we have a Christmas song that begins on a plodding, somber note and erupts into a thrilling epiphany. We’re exploring “We Three Kings.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Poetry
Behold the Handmaid
if you go to Mass, you hear the near-perfect opening
line in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God
Posted inArts & Culture, Podcasts
Did the magi really exist? Investigating the story behind the Christmas carol
Besides its musical beauty and thrilling sense of wonder, the song ‘We Three Kings’ offers a treasure trove of stories to unwrap.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
The star first leads the wise men to Jerusalem—where Old and New Testament meet—not Bethlehem
The star led the Magi to Jerusalem, “as we are always taken to Jerusalem—because we must encounter the Scriptures of Israel,” says David Neuhaus, S.J. “It is from the Scriptures of Israel that they will receive the precise destination to which they are going—Bethlehem.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
In Christmas Message, Pope Francis calls for peace between Israel and Palestine, and throughout the world.
Pope Francis urged people to pray and work for peace in no less than ten conflict situations worldwide.