Jesus: The Warmth that Saves
In the southern hemisphere we may lose a bit of the “feeling” of Christmas, which falls in the middle of the exuberance of year-end holidays. Long summer days and warm nights invite us to...
Category: Christmas
Who Will Save us From the State We’re In?
Guest Editorial by Bishop Sylvester David OMI, auxiliary bishop of Cape Town In 1966 the famed duo Simon & Garfunkel recorded a song entitled “Silent Night/7 O’Clock News”. The hymn “Silent Night” is sung...
Yes, There Really is a Santa Claus
Santa Claus is real. More precisely commemorated as St. Nicholas (in Dutch, “Sinterklass,” later anglicised to “Santa”), the church celebrates this fourth-century bishop every Dec. 6 for his holiness of life and zeal for...
Pope: Set up a Nativity Scene, Pray there before Christmas
By Cindy Wooden – Putting up a Nativity scene before Christmas is a reminder to stop and remember what Christmas is really about and to prepare one’s heart like a manger for the coming of...
Pope: What Nativity Scenes Really Tell Us
By Cindy Wooden – A Nativity scene is a simple reminder of something astonishing: God became human to reveal the greatness of his love “by smiling and opening his arms to all”, Pope Francis said...
Pope Blesses Nativity Scene Statues, Calls Them Signs Of God’s Love
By Cindy Wooden – Pope Francis blessed hundreds of figurines of the baby Jesus – ranging from tiny plastic figures to life-sized statues — and encouraged children to make sure they have Nativity scenes...
Christmas Giving that Conveys God’s Love For Us
Many people know the short story by O. Henry titled “The Gift of the Magi” in which a young couple with very little financial means figure out how to give each other a gift...
A Wonderful Christmas Gift for your Mother
Regardless of whether your mother is on this, or the other side of eternity, you can still give her the most wonderful gift of all: your love. Our mothers selflessly carried us, painstakingly brought...
In Advent, Have Hope for South Africa
This year will probably go down as one of the hardest in our national psyche. Its memory will be dominated by the dark incidents of gender-based violence, epitomised by the brutal murder of young...
Debunking the Myth of ‘Pagan’ Christmas
At this time of the year, Catholics are liable to be lectured with the inaccurate notion that the celebration of Christmas on December 25 derives from an appropriation of pagan feasts. Some Catholics have...
10 Ways to Put Christ into Christmas
During Advent and at Christmas, our kids focus on Santa Claus and jingling bells. Erin Carelse suggests ten ways of turning their focus to Christ. The speakers in the malls are piping jingle bell songs, trolleys...
All About Advent Calendars!
By Carol Zimmermann – The Advent calendar with one tab or box to open each day for 24 or 25 days taps into something people really like: countdowns. It also highlights the anticipation that is at the...
