A feast and gala procession in honor of Jesus' Presentation in the Temple was celebrated by Jerusalem Christians at least as early as the late 4th century. It took place 40 days after the feast of the Lord's birth since the Jewish law required a...
Leo the Great exhorts us, in celebrating Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord, to recognize that the incarnation ennobles our humanity. Christian remember your dignity!...
The announcement of the Nativity of the Lord from the Roman Martyrology formally proclaims the birth of Jesus Christ, based on the biblical accounts. Beginning with creation, it relates the birth of the Lord to the major events and people of both salvation...
A strong affirmation, by Athanasius, of the full Divinity of Christ in an age when that doctrine was under attack. The heresy of Arianism, which taught that Jesus was inferior to the Father, originated in Alexandria, Egypt, the native place of St. Athanasius....
William of St.-Thierry explains the history of salvation, culminating in the Incarnation, as a revelation of the love of God who comes to empower us to love him in return. The advent of the Savior is the coming of Jesus Christ, the apostle of...
This excerpt from Eusebius of Caesarea's commentary on Isaiah 40 focuses on the role of St. John the Baptist, one of the key figures of Advent. John, the voice crying out in the wilderness, comes to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus Christ....
In 1531, Our Lady appeared to a humble Indian named Juan Diego on a hill called Tepeyac, near what is now Mexico City. The following account of the apparition is found in the Nican Mopohua, or Huei Tlamahuitzoltica, written in Nahuatl, the Aztec language,...
It is not absolutely certain that it was St Ephraem who wrote this lyrical praise of Christmas, but the piece is sufficiently beautiful to be attributed to the poetic theologian and father of the church who is known as "the Harp of the Holy Spirit"...
Ephrem, on the brilliant light of God's wisdom that illuminates us especially initially through the sacrament of baptism and daily through the sacramental table of the eucharist. The sacraments are a mirror reflecting God's beauty and a pledge of our future resurrection....
Isn't Advent great? Welcome to the season where the only song we sing for four weeks is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel! It's the best! Advent is my favorite season, and not just because, as a music minister, I get to play more songs with minor keys. Advent is my favorite...