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

People pack into the popular Christkindlmarkt to shop and see the Christmas illuminations in Vienna’s Rathauspark. Vienna is known for its outdoor Christmas markets with handcrafted Christmas ornaments, which are popular destinations for locals and tourists during Advent. CNS photo/Chaz Muth ...read more

Pakistani Christian boys decorate a Christmas tree on the roof of their house in Islamabad, Pakistan. I love images, and as the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.  My hope is that over the next couple of weeks our mini-blog series called,  This is Christmas will speak volumes about God’s presence in our ...read more

In the lead up to COP21—the landmark international climate change summit in Paris—a massive climate mobilization has started happening around the world. On Sunday, November 29 at Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto, an event called “Light the Way to Climate Action” saw thousands of people come together of all faiths and backgrounds to stand in ...read more

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s Mercy”. With these words Pope Francis invited everyone to take part in a special Jubilee Year of Mercy. It will begin on this year’s Solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2015 and end on next year’s Solemnity of Christ the ...read more

SETTLE FOR LESS Turns out living simply and settling for ‘good enough’ is a sure fire way to be happy. Barry Schwartz in his popular TED talk on the paradox of choice suggests that we’ve been ingrained with the idea that the way to be happy is to maximize our freedom. And the way that ...read more

While we celebrate Pope Francis’ historic visit to Uganda today, I thought I’d share with you this classic image of Pope John Paul II during his apostolic visit to Uganda in 1993. Wonderful, isn’t it? During the 26 and a half years of his pontificate, John Paul II was a pilgrim to 129 different countries ...read more

During his trip to Africa, Pope Francis will land in Entebbe, Uganda on Friday, November 27. It will be the second country he visits during the voyage. As is custom, he will pay a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic and meet with civic authorities and the diplomatic corps. That same evening he ...read more