Short services of blessing of a Christmas Manger or Nativity Scene that are actually part of the official liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. But they can be conducted by lay men or women in their own homes. Both full...
Gaudete Sunday calls us to rejoice in hope. As John the Baptist found joy amidst suffering due to the Good News that the Christ had appeared, we too pause from our Advent penance to rejoice in a salvation that has drawn near and whose...
Christmas is a joyous celebration of the birth of Peace. So why does the Church precede the feast of December 25 with a somber season of fast and penance? A meditation for the Second Sunday of Advent, cycle A. ...
In this 13 minute podcast, Sonrise Morning Show host Anna Mitchell Interviews Dr. Italy on the insistent command in many of the scripture readings of the season, to rouse ourselves from sleep. What does it mean to be spiritually awake and alert? The Season of Advent...
Christmas lights begin to appear in November, chasing away the increasing darkness. Is all this just commercialism and secularism, or do holiday lights somehow tie into the true meaning of the Advent and Christmas season?...
The belief second and final coming of Jesus as sovereign Lord and judge of the world is common to all Christians, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. It is commemorated each November in the Roman Catholic Feast of Christ the King, a celebration that inspires both...
Will there be marriage in heaven? Jesus' answer to the Sadducees about the widow with seven deceased husbands needs to be understood in light of some important truths about the resurrection and the hereafter....
Zacchaeus (a.k.a Zaccheus) was an especially successful tax collector and therefore an exceptionally hated man. On the road to Jericho, from the limb of a Sycamore tree, this blood-sucking vampire caught a glimpse of mercy and grace and had to make a choice....
The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (aka tax collector) in Luke 18 teaches us a lot about pride, humility and . . . insanity. It even gives us insight into one of the principal battle cries of the Protestant Reformation -- "sola...
Jesus' says "ask and you shall receive." But if we don't listen in prayer, we won't know what to ask for. Here are tips for using the inspired prayers called Psalms as guides to praying effectively....