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December 25: The Nativity of The Lord – Christmas
The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131; in Latin Dies Natalis. Early Celebration Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Sts. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts, and Origen, glancing …
Christmas falls on a Saturday this year. What does that mean for Mass obligations?
by CNA Staff Denver Newsroom, Dec 21, 2021 / 12:28 pm As much as some of us would like a few extra days to prepare, Christmas 2021, ready or not, is Saturday, Dec. 25. “How will I possibly finish my shopping and house cleaning by then?” is not the only …
December 24: Vigil of Christmas
In the first ages, during the night before every feast, a vigil was kept. In the evening the faithful assembled in the place or church where the feast was to be celebrated and prepared themselves by prayers, readings from Holy Writ (now the Offices of Vespers and Matins), and sometimes …
Commentary: Is anyone ‘ready’ for Christmas?
by JD Flynn Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2018 / 01:22 pm MT (CNA).- After communion at Mass this morning, our parish school choir began one of my favorite hymns. The first line filled my heart. “Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand.” It was darling …
The History of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’
The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface …
Pope Francis to beatify ‘smiling pope’ John Paul I in September 2022
by CNA Staff Vatican City, Dec 23, 2021 / 09:53 am Pope Francis will beatify the “smiling pope” John Paul I on Sept. 4, 2022. Vatican News, the website overseen by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, said on Dec. 23 that the pope who reigned for only 33 days would be beatified …
Pope Francis accepts Cardinal Turkson’s resignation as head of Vatican’s social development office
by CNA Staff Vatican City, Dec 23, 2021 / 04:25 am Pope Francis on Thursday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Peter Turkson as prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He named the 75-year-old Canadian Jesuit Cardinal Michael Czerny as the interim head of the dicastery pending the appointment …
December 23: St. Thorlak Thorhallsson
The Scandinavian island nation of Iceland celebrates its national patron, St. Thorlak Thorhallsson, on Dec. 23. Although Iceland’s national assembly declared him a saint in 1198, only five years after his death, this “unofficial” canonization did not become an official part of the Church’s liturgical calendar until Pope John Paul …
We asked our readers about their favorite Christmas carols. Here’s what you said.
by Jonah McKeown Denver Newsroom, Dec 21, 2021 / 15:00 pm Recently, we at CNA conducted a (very unscientific, but nonetheless illuminating) poll of our readers to get a sense of your favorite Christmas carols. And, thanks to the nearly 1,000 of you who voted, the results are in! If …
UC-Irvine fires Catholic ethicist who filed ‘natural immunity’ challenge to COVID-19 vaccine mandate
by Joe Bukuras Boston, Mass., Dec 22, 2021 / 04:00 am A Catholic psychiatrist and medical ethicist who is suing the University of California for denying him a natural immunity exemption from its COVID-19 vaccination mandate has been fired for refusing to be vaccinated. Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a psychiatry professor …
