Preparing for the first Sunday of Advent, Timothy O’Malley asks, “Are we ready to recognize the coming of our Lord, the apocalypse of God’s final judgment?” If we are not, Advent is the time to get ready. Tim writes, “The hidden Lord
Shaun McAfee writes that each passing Advent helps him to consider the conditions and anxieties of the first Christmas, which is why praying the Joyful Mysteries with heartfelt contemplation comes as a timely advantage. There is no mistake or coincidence that the
Joe Grabowski writes, “It’s true. The End Times are indeed upon us!” He says, “The season of Advent and the preceding weeks of Ordinary Time mean to bring home this urgency to us, by focusing on the several ‘comings’ or ‘advents,’ of
For most of us, the holidays are a time of hustle and bustle, of big meals, noisy parties, much coming and going — and not a lot of peace. If you’re looking for a little peace at a time when it may
Editorial director for periodicals and Catholic mom Gretchen Crowe reflects on how passing on the Faith with her children during the Advent and Christmas seasons makes the time even better. She writes: “We kneel before the manger, genuflect in the presence of
In the Opening the Word for the Fourth Sunday of Advent on December 22, Tim O’Malley writes about Joseph: Jesus’s Joseph is a righteous dreamer. There’s a wisdom to the Church’s decision to give us this reading right before Christmas. The task
A reader asks Monsignor Charles Pope if John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was the Messiah. There are different views on how to understand this. One view holds that John is not confused at all and is merely trying to encourage his
Each Advent, we hear reflections that remind us to make more room in our hearts for God. But do we have room for him in our homes and families? Online you'll find six suggestions by Doctor Greg Popcak on how to point
Most of us do not live with life altering physical disabilities like blindness and deafness. But we often can be blind and deaf to the will of God. Assistant editor Ava Lalor writes that on Gaudete Sunday, the halfway point of Advent,
In a new apostolic letter, Admirabile Signum, released Dec. 1, Pope Francis writes about the meaning and importance of Nativity scenes, encouraging us to look at them with fresh eyes. The staff at Our Sunday Visitor offers five recommendations from that document