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December 19, 2014
Few Christmas hymns are more admired than “Silent Night.” The lyrics were penned by a young German priest in 1816 and a schoolteacher added the melody two years later. Together these amateur musicians wrote a simple yet powerful song that lovingly depicts the peace and joy of the holy mother and her new child.
VATICAN CITY - God did not come to the world with arrogance to impose His might; He offered His powerful love through a fragile child, Pope Francis said.
VATICAN CITY - Ineffective budgetary oversight and "questionable" financial activities have plunged the Order of Friars Minor into significant debt and an extremely serious financial situation, its minister general said.
JERUSALEM - Ending a year that saw the papal visit, a war in Gaza and a resumption of violence in Jerusalem, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal's Christmas message condemned all instances of violence.
Every step that Mary took, she took out of love, says Alissa Jung.
December 20, 2014
SEOUL, South Korea - A South Korean cardinal prayed for reunification with the North so that, "through trust and reconciliation, may we become one big family again."
December 21, 2014
At some point, this Christmas season most people will almost certainly receive a Christmas card, or e-card, depicting a plump, blue-eyed baby Jesus lying in an impoverished crib lined with hay and surrounded by friendly farm animals. There might be a barn in the background, beneath an enormous star and framed by pine trees with snow bending the branches. If it's the thought that counts, somebody hasn't thought this through.
December 22, 2014
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Dozens of photos of smiling babies accompanied by moving testimonials line the walls of Franciscan Brother Lawrence Bode’s office in the Milk Grotto Church where, tradition holds, the Virgin Mary hid in an underground cave in order to breast-feed Jesus as she and Joseph were fleeing King Herod.
Chris Van Allsburg’s book The Polar Express is a classic Christmas tale read to many children in homes and schools. In 32 pages, Allsburg captures the magic of Christmas through the eyes of a boy who visits Santa’s Workshop via a mysterious train one snowy C hristmas Eve. The boy receives a gift from Santa Claus, a bell, which rings only to those who “believe.”
VATICAN CITY - God is knocking to come into people's lives, so be attentive, humble and courageous to let him in, Pope Francis said.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' Christmas greeting to the Vatican bureaucracy this year was an extended warning against a host of spiritual ills to which he said Vatican officials are prone, including "spiritual Alzheimer's," "existential schizophrenia," publicity-seeking, the "terrorism of gossip" and even a poor sense of humor.
NEW YORK - New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan joined in mourning what he called the "brutal and irrational execution of two young, promising and devoted police officers" fatally shot Dec. 20 as they sat in their New York Police Department cruiser on a Brooklyn street.
December 23, 2014
Christmas in the small town of Gandino, in the foothills of the Italian Alps, was a wondrous time for Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi.
PORTLAND, Ore. - The winner of college football's 2014 Heisman Trophy attended Hawaii's only all-boys Catholic high school, the successor to the school St. Damien of Molokai briefly attended in preparation for his ordination in Honolulu.
TORONTO - Giving advice to the Pope is not a one-way street. It begins with Pope Francis giving advice to his advisors — including Canadian theologian Moira McQueen.
The following is the Christmas message from Archbishop Paul- André Durocher, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. As I write this Christmas message, barely a week has gone by since Remembrance Day, a day marked by the still fresh memory of the recent assassinations of two members of the Canadian Armed Forces. This year, Christmas in Canada will take on a different shading, muted and somber, because of these events which have saddened our hearts and our spirits.
The following is the Christmas message from Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, papal nuncio to Canada. We are just at the threshold of Christmas, a great event which — if we welcome it — is capable of changing our lives. A story by Tolstoy which I learned and owe to Pope Benedict XVI helps me to share the light and life that springs from Christmas:
Some ideas for an eco-friendly Christmas: LED lights 1. Use 90- to 95-per-cent less energy. 2. Last at least seven times longer than ordinary lights. 3. Are more durable and don’t have any breakable filaments or glass bulbs. 4. Produce less heat, thereby reducing the risk of fire. Christmas trees 1. Why not buy a potted tree this year? You can transplant it outside in the spring or let it grow on your balcony and bring it back inside for use next Christmas. 2. If you buy a real tree, find out if your municipality picks them up after Christmas for mulching. Decorations 1. Deck your halls with handmade decorations like popcorn and fresh cranberry chains. A biodegradable choice! 2. Buy decorations you can reuse year after year. Instead of throwing out old ornaments, consider repainting them. Gifts 1. Everyone has items that they don’t use or are as good as new. Give gifts of repaired or refurbished items. 2. Buy environmentally friendly gifts that the receivers will appreciate. Buy products certified EcoLogo or Energy Star, the symbol of high energy efficiency. Gift wrap 1. Use cloth gift bags instead of paper. You can craft wonderful personalized bags that may be appreciated as much as the gift inside, and can be reused. 2. Or you can use old posters, photos or comics from the newspaper, or magazine pages to wrap presents. 3. To add the finishing touch to your gifts, use pine cones, evergreen branches or other colourful objects from nature instead of store-bought ribbons and bows. 4. Be gentle this year when opening your presents and save the paper and ribbon for next year! 5. Even simpler, put your presents in reusable gift bags! Heating 1. Cooking and entertaining can really warm up your home. Before the kitchen gets too hot, turn down your thermostat. Don’t open the window. 2. In winter, use fans to circulate warm air through the house. 3. If lots of people are coming and going, make sure you close doors properly and keep the warm air inside for you and your guests. 4. If you heat with a wood stove, make sure your chimney is clean and that your wood stove is EPA-certified. Minimize use of your fireplace. (Source: greenchurch.ca.)
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis deplored the "abuses and inhuman acts" of Islamic State militants, and called on all religious leaders to condemn them "unanimously and unambiguously." He also said he hoped to travel to the Middle East to comfort persecuted Christians there.
TORONTO - At Bishop Allen Academy’s annual charity dinner for the community Dec. 8, Vanessa Rasile was served a cocktail of emotions.