Christmas

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.”

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.

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.

The Compassion Connection is looking for help to provide a merry Christmas to children living in foster care in Stearns County.

“This year has felt more Lent than Advent, but it has been a time of waiting, a year of mandated patience. We have not all done this equally well. Many of us have grown impatient at the long austerity of the COVID crisis. We don’t all feel we are sharing the same burden.”

Catholic Charities Emergency Services, in conjunction with the Valhalla Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps League, is once again sponsoring the St. Cloud Area Toys for Tots program to help ensure no child goes without a gift at Christmastime.

Gatherings during these seasons will be different — the pandemic especially reminds us to be watchful and sacrifice for the needs of our community.

“It’s not an ideal situation, but in these uncertain, unprecedented times, we are wise to be realistic and keep hope that soon, we will be able to visit ‘as of old.'”