A Test of Faith
By Ben Lima
The Massacre of the Innocents is a test of faith. Taking place in the midst of the Christmas story, Herod the Great’s vain attempt to do away with the threat to his reign by killing all the baby ... Read More...
A Christmas Paradox
By Molly Jane Layton
When St. John the Evangelist wrote the Christmas story, he left out all of the Christmas. There are no angels, no shepherds, no wise men. No Mary, no Joseph, no manger. No birth announce... Read More...
Saint Stephen, the Law of the Cross, and a Church that Would Rather Die than Kill
By Eugene R. Schlesinger
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Luke 23:34
Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
Acts 7:60
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
... Read More...
The Incarnation: God’s Great Eucatastrophe
By Neal Michell
People throng to Christmas Eve services, but few attend Christmas Day services. Somehow, the simplicity of Christmas Day services allows the truth of the Incarnation to touch our hearts in a sp... Read More...
O Holy Night: Beyond Sentimentality
By Peter C. Schellhase
A few Christmases ago I learned that “O Holy Night,” that Christmas Eve staple, is based on a quite serviceable French carol, “Minuit, Chrétiens,” by Placide Cappeau. But the differenc... Read More...
Who is ‘Left Behind’? An Advent Meditation
By Wesley Hill
One of the Gospel readings appointed for the Advent season used to send chills up my spine when I heard it as a child. “Then two will be in the field,” Jesus says, conjuring the image of two v... Read More...
The Fulness of Time: Lancelot Andrewes on Advent and the Words of Scripture
By Stewart Clem
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
These are the best-known w... Read More...
The Failures of Reform: A Response to Cavadini, Healy, and Weinandy
By Samuel Keyes
Theologians John Cavadini, Mary Healy, and Thomas Weinandy recently published a series of essays as “A Synoptic Look at the Failures and Successes of Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms.” The ... Read More...