As we enter the second week of Advent, things are ramping up in anticipation of Christmas. That means we are well on our way to that great celebration of our faith and the hope that accompanies it.
The nine justices of the Supreme Court began work in earnest Dec. 1 on what already looks to be the court’s most closely watched — and probably most controversial — ruling in nearly half a century.
Before there were any buildings in Rockefeller Center, there was a Christmas tree.
It’s been quite a fall: a totaled car, a flooded house, a serious infection, the death of my father, an eye injury that resulted in emergency surgery, and some things I’m still holding close and private. Quite a fall. On the second Sunday of Advent, we will travel home from my father’s funeral. I’m still not sure I understand the delay but delayed it was, and so we will live in a weird spiritual and temporal suspension until we return home again.
Gospel Commentary Nov. 28, lk 21:25-28, 34-36
Remember last year when we wanted nothing more than to celebrate with family and friends like usual? Now we're on the brink of a holiday season with hopes as bright as Christmas lights. But with the return of traditions, travel and time together, we may also encounter the gripes, grudges and jostles of family gatherings.
Q. I am thinking of getting a tattoo on my arm of my late daughter's handwriting. Is there anything in Catholic teaching against this? (I want to do this for my 75th birthday which is coming up soon.) (Louisville, Ken.)
On the solemnity of Christ the King, we expressly recall Our Blessed Lord’s kingship over us and his creation.
We are in Charlottesville this week. We traveled down on a Thursday, making the nine-hour drive with our hearts in our throats. Would we get here in time? My father was dying. In truth, it’s been a long goodbye.
Paving the way
Residents of Northern Virginia are well acquainted with roadwork. Be it on I-66 or the Beltway, we all know that road improvements (widening, repaving, straightening) often make it easier to get around, but just as often can seem like a perpetual project requiring major life changes. Thus, we have a keen insight into John the Baptist’s message in our Gospel today. In Luke 3:1-6, we find John filled with the word of God, crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord”and “make straight a highway in the desert for our God.”