We do not know any specifics about Jesus’ childhood or the domestic life of the Holy Family. The stories about the young Jesus found in Luke and Matthew are more concerned with the evangelists’ theological themes than with family life. Luke wanting to show the family as devout Jews with the stories of Jesus’ circumcision, Mary’s purification, and the family traveling to Jerusalem for Passover. Matthew wanting to show the universality of salvation with the story of the Magi, and Jesus as the new Moses with the flight to Egypt and the slaughter of the innocents.

On this fourth and last Sunday of advent before the great celebration of Christmas, we light the fourth candle of the Advent wreath called “Angel’s Candle”. This reminds us of the angels message that Jesus came to bring peace to our hearts and to our world.

Yes, after living through some tough times of the Corona virus pandemic, with fear, anxiety and uncertainties, it is another God’s acceptable time to trust deeper in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and the source of true peace.

Most people think of Advent as the “Christmas Season,” but that really does not properly describe this time of preparation. As Catholics, the scriptures at Mass and all the prayers we use, draw our attention to the Second Coming of Christ at the end of our lives. It is only when we get close to the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord that that we see a transition in both the scriptures and the prayers of Mass and other official prayers of the season to focus on the First Coming of Christ to dwell with us.

Incense has become a polarizing topic in the Church. Some love it, some hate it, very few are indifferent. But why do we use incense during Mass and why have we for centuries?

The use of incense in the liturgy is an important element for liturgical, theological, and historical reasons.