The Epiphany of the Lord

Today is the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, in which we celebrate “the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world” (CCC 528). We celebrate the Child who was born for us on Christmas Day as the fullest possible revelation of...

Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God

On this first day of the new year, the Church focuses our attention on Mary, the Mother of God. Why is this? As our Sunday meditation told us, the spiritual life is a continual interplay of God’s action and our response. God is always acting to bring us into union...

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

With today’s Feast in honor of the Holy Family, we continue our celebration of the Octave of Christmas. The whole Octave is meant to be seen as one day, in which we return again and again to stand before the manger, gazing with wonder and joy at the infant Jesus,...

Christmas

The Christmas mystery is too profound to be limited to a single celebration. The Church dedicates four distinct liturgies to this feast, full of Scriptures for us to ponder. Then she extends the Christmas celebration throughout a joyful Octave. In our prayer, in...

Seasonal Introduction to Christmas

The Christmas Season takes its direction from the splendor of the light of Christ, which breaks into our Advent darkness with the three liturgical celebrations on Christmas Day. We then proceed into the Octave, which contains numerous feasts. There is an intensity of...