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Columns

New marriage prep

By Russell Shaw
These are not the best of times for Catholic marriage in America. Numbers illustrate the point. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, in 2020 — when U.S. Catholic population stood at 73 million — Catholic marriages numbered a measly 97,200. But, you say, 2020 was the Year of Covid, the Year […]
12/16/22
Reading Time 3 min

Preparing the way of the Lord

By Nicholas Young
“How do Christmas lights get so tangled in the box?” I wondered to myself. Year after year it was the same routine: dig the boxes of Christmas decorations out of the closet; locate the lights, untangle the cords, then test for burnt-out bulbs. Drag the ladder from the garage and — my least-favorite part — […]
12/16/22
Reading Time 2 min

Every day can be Christmas

By Kolbe Tucker
Is there anyone who truly strives for mediocrity over perfection? Mediocrity is never the goal we pursue; it is a result we settle for begrudgingly. The desire for perfection is ingrained in us: our work, our school, our everyday lives, because we are all made in the image and likeness of God, who is perfect. […]
12/16/22
Reading Time 3 min

The keys to the kingdom

By Timothy Banach
Familiar emotions hit me as I took in the beauty of the Chesapeake from the Bay Bridge on the three-hour drive from seminary. I was heading back to the Arlington diocese for Vocation Awareness Week, and my feelings ranged from excitement to be back in the diocese to nervousness to be speaking after every weekend […]
12/16/22
Reading Time 2 min

‘O Come, O Come,’ everyone

By Susan Hines-Brigger
Ever since I became a mom — more than 20 years and four kids ago — the Advent and Christmas season has taken on a whole different perspective for me. That perspective has opened up the meaning of the season for me and brought me closer to Mary in a mother-to-mother kind of way. I […]
12/15/22
Reading Time 3 min

‘Silent Night,’ ‘Stille Nacht,’ still inspires peace

By Ann M. Augherton
Listen here:   The Christmas song, “Silent Night,” may have put the town of Oberndorf, Austria, on the map, but it’s the chapel memorializing the beloved carol that is the town’s main attraction. Best seen blanketed in snow, the small octagonal-shaped chapel, just 13 miles from Salzburg, is a tourist destination any time of year. […]
12/15/22
Reading Time 3 min

May faith be as light

By Fr. Steven Oetjen
Gospel Commentary Dec. 11, Mt 11:2-11 “Lord Jesus Christ, abide with us, / Now that the sun has run its course; / Let hope not be obscured by night, / But may faith’s darkness be as light.” This is the first verse of a hymn that is sometimes sung during Vespers, the liturgical prayer that […]
12/10/22
Reading Time 3 min

Why ‘A Christmas carol’ is the perfect Advent book

By Kathleen McDermott
“A Christmas Carol” is one of my favorite stories, and one I look forward to reading it every year at this time. Charles Dickens’ vivid imagery lets me smell the Cratchits’ goose, see Fred and Topper playing their Christmas games and ache for Tiny Tim. I feel a warm sense of joy when I finish […]
12/8/22
Reading Time 3 min

Hope, harmony, humility

By Fr. Jack Peterson, YA
GOSPEL COMMENTARY Dec. 4, Mt 3:1-12 The Advent season is one of joyful expectation for Christians as we prepare to welcome anew into our world and our lives Emmanuel, God-with-us. The church, with the assistance of today’s readings, invites us to prepare for this coming by pondering three great realities: hope, harmony and humility. Hope. […]
12/3/22
Reading Time 3 min

Late to Advent

By Elizabeth Foss
I almost missed the beginning of Advent this year; that’s how unprepared I was. November was caught up with illness, then injury, then heartbreaking and unexpected tragedy. Two days before Thanksgiving, I had only done half my shopping and my house was an utter wreck. That’s when a careful inspection of my (secular) calendar revealed […]
12/1/22
Reading Time 2 min

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