Jeanie Hannaman

By Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, National Catholic Register - Miracles can happen in our own time, too, if we keep Christ at the center... There are many fond memories and cherished, time-honored traditions, rituals and symbols that mark this time of the year -- the symbols of the Christmas tree, the ritual of decorating it, the Christmas wreath, stockings by the fireplace, and the wrapping of presents placed under the tree. These traditions make this a very enchanted time of the year. But most of all, the Christmas crèche remains the most cherished and distinctive symbol of Christmas. ...

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture - Have you ever stopped to consider how closely joy is associated with hope? This is so true that the Latin verb which means “to be without hope” is desparare, from which we get the English word despair. And despair is also what destroys joy. It is the ultimate sadness... I mention this during the Christmas Season because it is the answer to the riddle of our modern pursuit of pleasure. It is obviously desirable to feel pleasure, but pleasure is a hideous trap without hope.

By Anthony Esolen, Crisis Magazine - Kneeling is good for the soul. It lifts you up by making you, in stature, no more than a child... The cardinal of Chicago, Blase Cupich, has issued a directive to demand that parishioners in the archdiocese not kneel to receive Holy Communion, on the grounds that doing so interrupts the flow of the procession and calls attention to the individual. Of course, kneeling at a Communion rail would not interrupt anything at all, or call attention to anyone at all; and it would provide in a most powerful and memorable way the experience of human community that is supposed to be, but never is, imparted by standing in line.