There is a recent product and consumer trend that I am torn about how to feel. Since well before Halloween — when many retailers already put out the Christmas stuff — another kind of seasonal item was filling the shelves — Advent calendars.
Tag: Christmas
Advent time is here again
Every Advent, we hear the mighty voice of John the Baptist calling out in the desert, his radical voice urging people toward repentance, conversion, and purification.
Christmas message from Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison
I wish all of the priests, deacons, Religious and consecrated persons, lay ecclesial ministers, and the lay faithful of our Madison Diocese the deepest joy, love, and mercy of Christ, made manifest in the beauty of the Incarnation.
The beauty of Christmas
One of my earliest Christmas memories is waking from a nap one afternoon and walking into the living room to see the Christmas tree for the first time, decorated and lit in all of its glory.
Christ’s birth is the center of human history
For Christians, the birth of Christ is the center of human history. In John 3:16, it is stated, “For God so loved the world that God the Father gave us his only Son so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have the gift of Eternal Life.”
Being thankful for what you have
The less you have, the more you probably appreciate it. That may seem obvious, but remains a point worth pondering.
Longfellow’s Christmas poem inspires us to hope
On Christmas Day in 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow listened to Christmas bells ring out the good news of peace on earth and goodwill to all.
Christmas message from Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison
This painful year of 2020 has dramatically revealed our vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and mortality. It has also shown the resilience and generosity of the human spirit. So many things that may have seemed so important a year ago matter very little now. Other realities, like faith, prayer, family and friends, health, and ultimately God stand in sharper focus as the bedrock of our existence. This year will be a different sort of Christmas, as we pray for those who died this year, those who are ill and those who heroically serve them.
We will forego many of our Christmas traditions this year, but the central truth remains. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entered into our broken and sinful world as a vulnerable baby to rescue us from sin and death. In our poverty and frailty, we can most profoundly relate to the Christ Child, who is born among animals and adored by shepherds. How easy it is to romanticize Christmas; the reality was far different. The advent of God is marked by poverty, obscurity, and danger. God quietly slips in through the back door, unbidden and unnoticed, but here with us. This overwhelming divine love is the cause, meaning and destiny of our human existence.
Families in need find Christmas cheer at St. Vincent de Paul ‘Little Drummer’ drive-thru
MADISON — Sometimes, drive-thru service can be a little impersonal, even cheerless.
This year, Madison-area St. Vincent de Paul Society members took a festive annual event curbside to help make Christmas brighter for hundreds of children from local households in need.
Yearly event
Each December, St. Vincent de Paul Society member groups, known as “conferences,” from Dane County parishes work together as the Society’s District Council of Madison to provide gifts for the children of families the conferences served during the year through a “Little Drummer” event.Free Christmas Day dinner in Fort Atkinson
FORT ATKINSON — St. Joseph Parish will host the Fort Atkinson Community Christmas Day Free Dinner on Friday, Dec. 25, offering a free turkey and ham dinner for anyone in the community who may be alone or who is unable to prepare a meal for the holiday.
This year’s dinner will be made available by carside pickup or carryout at the church, 1660 Endl Blvd., Fort Atkinson.