Denver, Colo., Dec 10, 2022 / 07:30 am

This year you’re invited to celebrate Advent and Christmas with your favorite Catholic influencers. So pour yourself a glass of eggnog and prepare to get into the spirit of the season by watching “The Great, Big Christmas Show,” livestreamed on Dec. 12.

Social media sensation Father David Michael Moses will host this 30-minute variety show alongside several well-known Catholic names. Join Leah Darrow as she bakes cookies with her family from her kitchen, hear poetry on the Incarnation with James Matthew Wilson, and sing your favorite Christmas songs with Father Rob Galea. These are just some of the names that will take part in this Christmas special produced by the University of St. Thomas-Houston MAX Studios.

Moses, a priest with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, currently serves as parochial vicar at Christ the Good Shepherd in Spring, Texas. Ordained in 2019 at the age of 25, this young priest is well-known for using social media to evangelize young people. In an interview with CNA, he expressed his hope that viewers will be filled with “joy” after watching the show.

“Like Father Mike [Schmitz] says, ‘Joy is choosing what you focus on.’ Joy is choosing what you focus on. And that’s the message of the Gospel. That’s the message of Christmas,” he said.

“If you wanted to focus on the fact that what you had is this young couple that was traveling a long way on a donkey and having their baby in a manger outside the stable, you could choose to focus on that if you wanted to,” he explained. “That sounds like a pretty lame night and a pretty sad start to a life. Or you can focus on the fact that this little baby is going to be the savior of the world. And that’s where the joy comes from.”

Moses added: “Scientific studies have shown that the anticipation of a joy — anticipation of some good to come — sometimes that anticipation can be just as strong and as enjoyable as the thing that is received. And I think it’s great for us as Catholics, we don’t just get Dec. 25, Christmas, we get a whole season of anticipation of joy, which for us the joy of what’s to come even now gives us joy.”

This lighthearted show will take viewers behind the scenes to see how these Catholic influencers celebrate Advent and Christmas. And with over 65,000 followers on Instagram and over 24,000 subscribers on YouTube, Moses is quite the influencer himself.

“Social media can be a way to connect with people and evangelize — it has its dangers for sure — but just in terms of how much good you can do, it’s worth taking a look at,” he said.

Moses discussed the importance of recognizing younger people as “full-fledged Catholic members of the Church,” quoting his bishop, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who says, “The youth are not the future of the Church, they are the Church.”

“We need to help them rise to that occasion and equip them with what they need,” he expressed. “The devil is prowling like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. He looks for the weak and so we need to make sure that we’re supporting the youth and investing in them.”

Moses shared that he was happy to be a part of the “The Great, Big Christmas Show,” which he says is a way of spreading the good news of a Savior being born because “our culture needs the Good News.”

“I think if people leave with a sense of joy and a renewed perspective on life and on this season, then it will have done its job,” he concluded.

“The Great, Big Christmas Show” streams live on YouTube on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, at 7 p.m. CST. You can watch the trailer here.

MAX Studios at the University of St. Thomas-Houston provides monthly content through a Catholic lens. Inspired by St. Maximilian Kolbe, it aims to encounter the culture while highlighting the Catholic faith and introduce others to Jesus through digital evangelization.