During Advent, we spend four weeks trying to balance ourselves. Like standing in the middle of a seesaw, we often have one foot in the materialistic world of gifts, decorating and parties, while the other foot is in the spiritual world of prayerfully expecting the miracle of Christ’s birth.
Pursue the gifts of inner peace, even among life’s inevitable noise, chaos and conflict.
Today, more than ever, we need inspiring stories about women and men, young and old, who have lived out heroic virtue.
Thomas Merton spells out a path for all Christians to follow and authentically seek a world of peace.
Liturgy directors and parish volunteers are busily preparing buildings and worship spaces for a prayerful Advent season and anticipation for Christmas.
Prayer, almsgiving (charity) and fasting were seen by the early church as naturally supporting and completing each other. They’ve been called, in fact, the three pillars of Christian discipline.
What sets Advent apart from the usual secular preparations for Christmas is the spiritual dimension: Advent is a time of both prayer and penance. As Catholics, we are called to exercise a more disciplined approach to our spiritual lives during the four weeks of Advent and to pay special attention to our words and deeds as we wait patiently for the coming of Christ.
As pilgrims processed with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in the shape of a cross over the United States, I witnessed the faithful being inspired by his Eucharistic presence.
