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.
A Christmas creche conveys the “message of peace and love that Jesus left us,” the pope said Dec. 7 during a meeting with the artisans, volunteers and government representatives responsible for the Christmas decorations in the Paul VI Audience Hall and in St. Peter’s Square.
Advocacy for the life of the unborn reminds us that Jesus is the true victor.
Over the years, Tildy Ellis has created large Nativity sets for parishes, such as St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. John the Baptist in Collegeville.
Naples, Italy, is known for the shops that line a particular street: hundreds of tiny workshops, where artisans and their assistants craft the “presepe.”
Upon discovering that there’s never been a musical produced about the Nativity, Adam Anders wrote “Journey to Bethlehem”. It’s not a documentary, but it’s “Inspired by a true story – the greatest story ever told.”
On the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi setting up the first Nativity scene, the creche in St. Peter’s Square in 2023 will come from the Diocese of Rieti, Italy, and pay tribute to the scene set up in the diocese in 1223.
In the spotlight: feast of Mary, Mother of God, Christmas in Ukraine, snowstorm’s impact
