December 8th, 2019 – Second Sunday of Advent

Babies just amaze me. This past Thanksgiving, I got to hold and play with my 8 month old niece, Molly. Her wonder at every new thing, even a simple wooden block, invited me to share her wonder. Earlier this week, Pope Francis wrote a short letter inviting us to wonder in amazement at another baby: the babe in swaddling clothes, Jesus. In this beautiful and powerful letter (you can read it here: https://tinyurl.com/FrancisNativity ), he invited us to reignite our devotion to the Nativity Scene, or Christmas Crèche. “In front of the crib we discover how important it is for our life, so often frenetic, to find moments of silence and prayer — the silence to behold the beauty of the face of the Baby Jesus, the Son of God, born in a lowly stable.” The Holy Father spoke of its origins: firstly, in history, as captured for us by the Sacred Scriptures. But secondly, through St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis had the privilege of visiting the Holy Land at a time when it was very difficult if not impossible to visit. He [...]