“What’s the best Christmas prayer you have ever experienced?”
Father Richard Malloy: Christmas prayer: ‘Do you want to hold him?’
Greg Erlandson: Calling a truce in the war on holly jolly
“The holly jolly is all the accoutrement of Christmas that has virtually nothing to do with the Christ Child’s arrival. It is all the stuff that, well, really ticked off the Grinch.”
Sweet Christmas cookie tradition connects members of Alexandria community
For nearly 30 years, the Cookie Connection tradition has brought Christmas cheer to the homebound or those unable to bake. This year, however, the tradition changed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Eden Valley, Watkins parishes to host outdoor Nativity story
The churches of St. Anthony in Watkins and Assumption in Eden Valley will host an outdoor depiction of the Nativity story. “The Story of Jesus’ Birth: A Drive Through Christmas Event,” will be held at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 23.
Ways to attend/watch Christmas Mass this year
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to limit the ways worshippers can safely gather, the diocese, parishes and area religious communities are doing what they can to make Christmas Mass accessible to all.
Christmas cookbook offers range of recipes — for those who can afford them
Four years after “The Vatican Cookbook” became a best-seller by revealing the secrets of the papal palate, authors David Geisser and Thomas Kelly have a sequel geared specifically for the holiday season in “The Vatican Christmas Cookbook.”
Diocesan TV Mass to air Christmas liturgy
The Diocese of St. Cloud has recorded a Christmas Mass that will be available online at www.stcdio.org/TVMass. The Mass will also air on select local access cable channels on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The Big Question: What is the situation of Christians in the Holy Land?
Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, who served in the Holy Land for the last six years, explains the challenges, exacerbated due to the pandemic, that Christians face there.