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Whatever is good, true, or beautiful comes from a single source: God. The generosity and faithful love that God showed in creation can become a constant reminder of our need to live out a generous and faithful love. Our ability to do that grows as we grow. Create a moment today to thank God for Jesus’s Incarnation and be ready for that to change your life.
We need to show compassion for those in need during this season and year-round. We miss the point of the Incarnation if we feel that feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless are activities for this season only. Educational theorist John Dewey said, “All education is about making connections.” We can never exhaust the connections that the Incarnation invites. Francis recognized this by linking this feast to extra generosity for humans in need, for oxen, asses, and even the lowly larks. The Incarnation of Jesus is a testament to God’s universal love and compassion.
Although I know the Catholic Church approves of cremation, I can’t find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church what the Church requires that Catholics do with the ashes (cremains). Do they have to be buried as in a traditional burial?
According to the second section of article 2301, “The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body. “
What is meant by the expression “the valley of the shadow of death “? I am a lifelong Catholic nearing the end of life. So much has changed over the years that I don’t understand what the Church teaches now about the passage from this life to the next. Do we still believe it is a fearsome struggle to avoid the clutches of the evil one? How can I find peace about this?
Are there any readings, books, or websites to explain to my 79-year-old sister that the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, telling her that she was favored by God to give birth to God’s Son?My sister believes something evil happened to Mary. When I told her she was wrong, she replied, “But it was on the Internet! “
The custom of setting up a Christmas crib in one’s home—not simply outside a church—reinforces the personal challenge represented by the Incarnation. The Incarnation changes everything in human history. We become different people because of it. In Francis’s day, many thought first of Jesus dying on the cross and only later about his birth in Bethlehem. Popularizing the crib reminded people of the great love that led to Jesus’s becoming one of us without compromising his divine nature.
One day when Francis was in a lonely place by himself, weeping for his misspent years in the bitterness of his heart, the joy of the Holy Spirit was infused into him and he was assured that all his sins had been forgiven. He was rapt in ecstasy and completely absorbed in a wonderful light, so that the depths of his soul were enlightened and he saw what the future held in store for himself and his sons. Then he returned to the friars once again and told them, ‘Have courage, my dearly beloved, and rejoice in God.
