New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan blesses an inmate as he celebrates Christmas Eve Mass at Rikers Island correctional facility in New York Dec. 24, 2013. CNS photo/Lucas Jackson, Reuters ...read more

Families displaced by violence take shelter at the Don Bosco Catholic youth center in Bangui, Central African Republic, Christmas Day, 2013. CNS photo/Andrea Campeanu, Reuters ...read more

Devotees take part in a pre-dawn Mass, locally called “Misa de Gallo,” before Christmas at a church in Manila, Philippines, Dec. 16. The pre-dawn Mass is one of the most popular traditions among Filipinos during the Christmas season. CNS photo/Erik De Castro, Reuters ...read more

Iraqis re-enact the Nativity at Ainkawa refugee camp near Irbil, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2014. Christmas bells did not ring in Mosul and Christian villages last year for the first time in 1,600 years. CNS photo/Sahar Mansour ...read more

In this Advent series, Deacon Pedro learns from Judaism as he prepares for the coming of the Messiah. In the second week, Deacon Pedro and Rabbi Aaron Flanzraich explore the significance of and difference between signs and symbols in Judaism. ...read more

A Christmas tree is illuminated in the Old Town Square on the eve of St. Nicholas Day in Prague Dec. 5, 2012. St. Nicholas Day marks the start of Christmas for the Czech people. CNS photo/David W Cerny, Reuters ...read more

If someone asked you to tell them the Christmas story as it’s told in the Gospels, how would you tell it?  What would you include?  What would you emphasize?  How accurate would your retelling be? The common image of the Christmas story that we have in our minds comes from traditional nativity scenes.  We see ...read more

Children return home after caroling on Christmas in Santa Rita de Castilla, a small town on the bank of the Maranon River in the Peruvian Amazon. CNS photo/Barbara Fraser ...read more

Choir members sing carols in front of a figure of Christ during Christmas Eve Mass at a Catholic church in Shenyang, China. CNS photo/Sheng Li, Reuters ...read more

A woman and a girl stand outside their home Dec. 4, 2013 under a sign that says “Merry Christmas” in Spanish in a poor neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. CNS photo/Jorge Cabrera, Reuters ...read more