Christmas

In a season full of wonky Washington cocktail parties, the Franciscans aim instead for a more modest and spiritually meaningful way to mark the birth of Jesus.

If our homes can be places of warm welcome, so can our parishes.

There is no shortage of Christmas novels published every fall. One of this season’s best is Camron Wright’s “Christmas by Accident,” a clever, sweet holiday story featuring a young woman who loves Christmas and a gentleman who strongly dislikes the holidays.

Advent and Christmas are seasons of hope.

The world into which Jesus was born was rife with many of the same problems our world faces today. Yet, the readings for the Epiphany of the Lord help us understand that because of Jesus’ birth, there is more light than darkness, more hope than despair.

Jesus’ birth always is recalled among Christians as an awe-inspiring event of astounding beauty — an event to behold and to celebrate jubilantly.

As nearly any of their Christmas shopping lists would suggest, parents know all about surrendering wants and desires — primarily, their wants and desires — for the sake of their children. Going “without,” or with less, is part and parcel of “surrender.”

For many, the holidays, Christmas in particular, can be a difficult time especially when grief in its many forms — including death, job loss, illness, addiction, the end of a relationship — is juxtaposed against it.