On December 25, 2024, Pope Francis gave his final Christmas address to the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. In it, he referred to the beginning of the Jubilee Year and the opening of the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s. The Holy Pontiff spoke of the symbolic meaning of the open doors, through which millions of pilgrims would pass through overContinue reading “Christ, the Open Door “
Category Archives: Advent and Christmas
On Pilgrimage
This Monday is the feast day of St. Thomas Beckett. Beckett was Archbishop of Canterbury until December 29, 1170, when he was murdered in his cathedral by men sent by Henry II, the King of England. The act of violence was due to Beckett’s refusal to cede to the monarch authority over certain ecclesial affairs. The site of St. Thomas’ martyrdom quickly became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations of the Middle Ages, along with Jerusalem,Continue reading “On Pilgrimage “
Midnight Mass
If you do a quick Google search of “Midnight Mass,” as I did this past week, your top results will likely be about some strange television series on Netflix. Apparently, the logarithm considers it the most relevant reference to Midnight Mass. Artificial intelligence, indeed. Midnight Mass is, of course, the traditional celebration of Christmas Mass in the middle of the night. For most of the Church’s history, it was theContinue reading “Midnight Mass “
The Gift of the Magi
There is a bar on East 19th St. in Manhattan called Pete’s Tavern which is always nice to visit this time of year for its Christmas decorations, which create a festive atmosphere conducive to the sharing of libations. In one of the booths, not far from the door, the author O. Henry composed one ofContinue reading “The Gift of the Magi “
Protomartyr
The fourth week of Advent is usually cut short by the arrival of Christmas, which is the beginning (not the end!) of the Christmas season. One of the things I love about the first days of the Christmas season are all of the beautiful feasts contained in them. Right on the heels of the celebrationContinue reading “Protomartyr “
Emmanuel
Advent brings with it great music. One of the classic hymns we sing during this season is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” which expresses the sorrow of those who live in exile combined with the joyful hope of redemption and restoration. The title of the song contains within it an interesting tension, if we rememberContinue reading “Emmanuel “
Mother of the Redeemer
We find ourselves in the second week of a new liturgical season – the 4-week season of Advent. With the change in liturgical season come changes in the liturgy itself. First, the priest begins to wear violet-colored vestments, whereas before he wore green. Second, we don’t sing the “Gloria” at the beginning of Mass untilContinue reading “Mother of the Redeemer “
Baptism
The most important day of my life was July 18, 1976. That was the day my parents took me to Sacred Heart Church in Suffern, NY to have me baptized. On the drive over to the church, I was my parents’ child, their lifeblood flowing in my veins which made me their son. But withContinue reading “Baptism “
Christmas
Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, Norway is a spiritual writer who understands the nature of the spiritual malady that afflicts our age, a sickness that runs so deep within us that most aren’t even aware we have it. He describes it as despair, as a kind of spiritual sadness. We are sad, he argues, becauseContinue reading “Christmas “
No Double-Dipping
George Costanza is not a good role model. There are many reasons why this is true, including his propensity to double-dip. We first learned of the Seinfeld character’s bad habit in Season 4 during the episode when George tries to score points with his new girlfriend by accompanying her to Michigan to attend the funeralContinue reading “No Double-Dipping “
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 