If we are found watching in prayer, exultant in God’s praise, wise beyond our abilities, and engaged in works of evangelization and charity, then we shall celebrate the feast of the Nativity with a joy like no other.

If we are found watching in prayer, exultant in God’s praise, wise beyond our abilities, and engaged in works of evangelization and charity, then we shall celebrate the feast of the Nativity with a joy like no other.

The Lord’s plan for Advent is different . . . and better. His plan invites us to spend more time in prayer – to listen to the Word of God, to participate attentively in Holy Mass, to confess our sins, and spend time with him in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

…In receiving the Lord in the Eucharist, in having your sins forgiven, in having the love of God poured into your hearts through the Holy Spirit, you own gifts and your own talents are being revealed and unlocked, so that you can and should take an active role in the mission of your parishes and an even more active role in helping to frame a world that is more aligned with the Kingdom which Jesus introduced into this old world…

To journey together, we must help one another along the way; console one another; and listen together to the wisdom and love of the Holy Spirit.

It is not hard for us to imagine Fr. McGivney’s meditating on this Gospel passage, and learning from the Savior himself how to be a holy, humble, self-effacing priest.

If our debt to Fr. McGivney is incalculable, so too our devotion to him must be without stint.

It could even be said that Jesus, in his human nature, learned from St. Joseph what it means to seek out and to do the will of the heavenly Father.

In a word, we are being formed to love as the saints and angels love in heaven. We are being formed so that God the Father can see and love in us what he sees and loves in his Son, Jesus Christ.

Yes, what the world needs now is love and while we Christians may not have the answers to many of life’s problems, we have received from the Lord, in abundance, that love which the world needs.

In partnership with the Baltimore City Police Department and various other Baltimore City nonprofits and businesses, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has begun a new Grief Ministry to support City families who have lost a loved one to violence. The ministry includes a variety of ways to volunteer, including praying weekly for victims, sending sympathy notes to families, and providing care packages of food and other necessities to families who have experienced a recent loss.

Both St. Teresa of Calcutta and Bl. Michael McGivney are interceding for us as we enter into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the source and font of our charity.

Commonweal takes an inside look at the Synod on Synodality with the expectation that a different Church will emerge from the process.
