Jeanie Hannaman

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture - Merry Christmas to you and your families! It is a glorious and beautiful feast—with the tenderness and simplicity of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—attracting us to worship the newborn King. Come, let us adore Him. On Christmas, we remember the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity—the Word made Flesh, Jesus—entering the world. He came on a mission to save us from our sins and open the doors to heaven... But let’s face it. Most of us don’t think that’s enough.

By Msgr. Charles Pope - Here in the middle of the Christmas Octave, the Church bids us to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. On the old calendar, the feast of the Holy Family falls on the Sunday after Epiphany, which makes some sense. It is a bit odd to read, a mere five days after celebrating Jesus’ birth, a Gospel in which He is 12 years old. And then, next week, we have the Feast of Epiphany in which Jesus is an infant again... Nevertheless, here we are. Perhaps, it is a good time to reflect on family life, as immediate and extended family often gather together during the Christmas season. Let us consider the family and marriage along three lines: structure, struggles, and strategy.

By Maria Augusta Von Trapp, Catholic Exchange - When asked about the origin of these old folk customs, one sometimes finds it hard to answer. They have come down to us through the centu­ries out of the gray past. Some are so old that they go back to pre-Christian times, having been baptized together with the people and turned from pagan into Christian customs. But, once in a while, we know how one or another custom originated.

By Deacon Michael Bickerstaff, Integrated Catholic - “Just as God’s glory overshadowed the Ark of the Old Covenant, so too did it overshadow Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant. Just as the Ark of the Old Covenant contained the presence of God, so too would Mary contain within her God become Man. Not only did Mary bear witness to God, the child she bore in her womb is God”.