In the waning days of December, some non-Christians celebrate the winter solstice instead of Christmas. The connection between the two observances is worth reflecting on this Advent Season. The winter solstice, which will occur on December 21, marks the longest night of the year. After that, the nights grow shorter …

En los últimos días de Diciembre, algunos no-Cristianos celebran el solsticio de invierno en lugar de Navidad. Vale la pena reflexionar sobre la conexión entre las dos celebraciones en esta temporada de Adviento. El solsticio de invierno, que ocurrirá el 21 de Diciembre, marca la noche más larga del año. …

Are you ready for Christmas?” I dread that question. After all, who is ever really ready for the cooking, cleaning, packing, traveling, buying, wrapping and even fighting that fill up our typical preparations for the holidays? Not me. The good news is that Advent doesn’t have to be that way. …

I admit it, I am a die-hard fan of print media. From the time I was a small child, I loved to hold on to books and dive into the stories that awaited me inside their pages. To this day, I love picking up a magazine, a library book, a …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Peter Finney Jr., Clarion Herald By Peter Finney Jr. NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — For the third consecutive year, states in the Gulf South of the U.S. ranked near the bottom of a 2018 "social justice" index that measures poverty, racial disparity and immigrant exclusion, according to the Jesuit …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Sean Gallagher, The Criterion By Sean Gallagher INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis might be described as a cathedral of football since tens of thousands of Indianapolis Colts fans faithfully fill it for the NFL team’s home games. But the organizers of the National Catholic Youth …

Question: I have been told that women served as deacons in the early Church? If this is true, what was their role? Answer: Instances of women serving as deacons in the early Church, especially in Syria, are referenced in various documents. However, evidence shows deaconesses did not have the same …

by Rebecca Sontag Oh, wait! Somebody just pulled up. It’s a white SUV. They haven’t gotten out yet, but they’re still there. They’re definitely looking.” Deacon Chuck Wright, the director of evangelization and catechesis at St. John the Baptist Church in Tipp City, quickly jerked the cord pulling up the blinds …

Composer and pianist Eric Genuis played hope and grace into existence before a crowd of more than 50 inmates at Lebanon Correctional Institution on Oct. 23.

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden TOKYO (CNS) — While not adopting the Japanese bishops’ opposition to nuclear power plants as his own, Pope Francis insisted the 2011 meltdown at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima raises serious questions. "It is important at times like this to pause …