CNS file photo Pope Paul VI watches the moon landing at Castelgandolfo on 21 July, 1969. ...read more

The feast of the Epiphany is celebrated in the Christmas season and through Matthew’s Gospel we become aware of the visit of the wise men or Magi who come in search of the Christ child so that they might present their gifts. It is interesting that in the homily of an early saint and bishop ...read more

Pope Benedict’s third volume of “Jesus of Nazareth” demonstrates that the nativity has profound significance for our faith lives — and not just during the Christmas season. Dr. Josephine Lombardi, professor at St. Augustine Seminary, and Fr. Thomas Rosica, Salt + Light’s CEO, share what they’ve learned from the Pope’s latest book. This new episode ...read more

An altar girl holds a candle during Gaudete Sunday Mass at Sts. Pedro e Paulo Chapel in Maputo, Mozambique, one of the poorest in the Capital. According to the 2007 census, 56.1% of the population of Mozambique are Christian. Religious communities are dispersed throughout the country. – Photo: Gustavo Kralj/Gaudiumpress ...read more

In the Jubilee Year of 2000, John Paul II made a very insightful statement.  He said: “Our Christian witness would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated the face of the Lord.”  The same might be said of our fully entering into the Christmas season. Christmas is a time in which we ...read more

CNS file photo CNS description: Archbishop Karol Wojtyla receives the cardinal’s red biretta from Pope Paul VI at the beginning of the consistory in the Sistine Chapel June 26, 1967. The future Pope John Paul II had a warm relationship with Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini), who served as a priest in Warsaw in ...read more

When Christmas is near, we all become traditionalists. Even the most anti-establishment types among us are horrified by attempts to alter our treasured rituals. As one example, Toronto shoppers were aghast at the unveiling of the modernized Christmas tree in the Eaton Centre shopping mall. Replacing the traditional, Swarovski-bedazzled faux-fir of years past, this year’s ...read more

CNS file photo by W. H. Keeler CNS description: With rosary in hand, Pope John Paul II scans the crowd as his helicopter circles Colorado’s Cherry Creek State Park before the closing Mass for World Youth Day Aug. 15, 1993. “Place your intelligence, your talents, your enthusiasm, your compassion and your fortitude at the service ...read more

The seasons of Advent and Christmas seem to come so quickly and to be filled with many activities to say the least. In the everyday planning and preparations for family and community celebrations there are inevitably certain individuals who for whatever reason go unnoticed or unrecognized. They make important contributions.  They are invaluable in their ...read more

CNS file photo Pope John Paul II kisses a rain-soaked tarmac as he arrives in Jakarta, Indonesia, on a pastoral trip in 1989. ...read more