For Catholics, Advent is not merely a prelude to Christmas; it is a sacred season of anticipation, rest, and stillness.
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As Albert Yzaquirre attended the 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Duncanville on the first Sunday in October with wife Elsa and mother-in-law Udelia Vasquez, feelings of gratitude and relief washed over him.
The Catholic Church must respond to cultural challenges facing marriage and family life with unity and compassion, Pope Francis said, and he called for a deeper integration of the Gospel into contemporary culture.
It was the evening of April 15, 2019, and Notre Dame Cathedral — an 850-plus-year-old, stone-and-mortar monument to human ingenuity and religious aspiration — was burning.
When Deacon Henry Vault Jr. joined the permanent diaconate over four decades ago, he did so for a simple reason: He wanted to help people.
Leading into the Advent season, Father Jason Cargo, pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, has partnered with illustrator Dr. Allison Hsu to publish his first book, “Jesse Tree: A Catholic Journey for Advent,” which walks readers through each day of Advent with a Jesse Tree devotion.
Parents of children with disabilities are a valuable part of the community of faith and are worthy of support and accompaniment from the Church, Peter Ductrám said.
Pro-life organizers are hoping to augment that sense of togetherness with the merger of two pre-march youth events, announced Nov. 14. The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, and host of Life is VERY Good since 2009, and the Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life, co-hosts of Life Fest since 2022, are joining forces to create one big pro-life rally called Life Fest ahead of the 2025 March for Life Jan. 24.
Pope Francis announced that he will canonize Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati next year and that the Vatican will host a world meeting on the rights of the child Feb. 3.
People travel for many reasons — some for pleasure, some for business, others for spiritual purposes, and many for other individual reasons. Travel educates us, because by traveling we learn about people, cultures, and places — and sometimes great or weird things as well.