Have you ever noticed how many of our popular, secular Christmas songs are not about the day itself but rather about hope and longing as that date draws near?

If you are wondering about those who lead you, ask yourself: Do they call you to something higher, something that demands your own growth?

All of us occasionally have “last straw” moments in our lives, when we feel we simply cannot bear the weight of one more demand.

Being a Christian, a partner in the paschal mystery, means sacrificing, thinking of others, following Jesus—even to laying down one’s life for others.