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

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

Last August, cameraman David Leross and I were in Vancouver for the CWL’s National Convention filming interviews for a special feature about the League called, Woman On A Mission. Here’s a little of what went on behind-the-scenes. One of the highlights of the Convention was Dr. Josephine Lombardi’s keynotes. As many of you already know, ...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

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

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