Christian News

Jesus presents himself for baptism in today’s Gospel not because He is a sinner, but to fulfill the word of God proclaimed by His prophets. He must be baptized to reveal that He is the Christ (“anointed one”)—the Spirit-endowed Servant promised by Isaiah in today’s First Reading. His baptism marks the start of a new world, a new creation...

Family estrangement has moved from the margins to the mainstream and this shift is now visible across popular culture and media alike. Oprah recently gave airtime to the “rising trend” of adult children who have severed ties with their parents. The New York Times offered suggestions for how to cope with family estrangement, especially around the holidays...

Say goodbye to abrupt departures, that awkward am-I-staying-or-going dance, and hovering anxiously (and conspicuously) near the door.There’s an art to bidding your host adieu, even if you’re slipping out earlier than expected—and experts say it’s a skill that can serve you well at any gathering, any time of year.Here’s exactly what to say to deliver a great goodbye.

Elites in Ancient Rome went to great lengths to advertise their status and wealth. Based on recent archaeological excavations in Egypt, at least some high-ranking military officials even showed off with their choice of pets. In the Journal of Roman Archaeology, researchers at Poland’s University of Warsaw described...

During a decade of service at the Vatican Secretariat of State, I was constantly perplexed by the Holy See’s unwillingness or inability to utilize already existing ecclesial structures for effective governance. As the Cardinals meet in Rome over the next few days, it’s worth taking a hard look at some recent ways in which the Church has been operating...

For as long as human beings have looked up at the night sky, we have tried to make sense of ourselves by reading what we see there. Long before telescopes or algorithms, people named the stars, traced patterns between them, and searched the heavens for meaning that seemed elusive closer to home...

A good definition of frustration: The difference between the way we want things to be and the way they are. It is the gap between expectations and reality. Expecting others to act well is understandable. Treat me well, as I treat you. You would agree that I treat you well, wouldn’t you? A plea I hear repeatedly as a psychologist...

At the beginning of creation, all of the angels were united in serving God. But a time came when Lucifer, the most senior of all the angels, grew resentful towards God. Catholic tradition holds that this resentment arose when Lucifer realized God’s plan for humanity and the role which human beings, and in particular Our Lady, were destined to play as the crowning glory of all creation.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor James A. Misko, a priest of the Diocese of Austin, Texas, as the next bishop of Tucson, Arizona.The Holy See Press Office publicized the appointment at the Vatican, and it was also publicized in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 22 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Misko has been serving as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Austin.

To get along better with everybody — well, almost everybody — the first question to answer is “Why?” After all, aren’t there people in your life who just don’t seem that willing to get along better with you? What’s more, they seem to be okay with that. As they see it, you’re the problem. They’d be easier to get along with if you were...

In 1901, Gilbert Keith Chesterton married Frances Alice Blogg. As the Catholic world knows now, Chesterton was a prolific thinker and writer who operated through genius more than well-organized habits, and Frances (who was also a writer) often served as his secretary and kept him on track. By all accounts, including their own, they were deeply in love, and it was a sadness that they were unable to have children...

“Ain’t nobody got no sickdays?” the bus driver chuckled as he opened the door, welcoming a dozen commuters who stood freezing in the pre-dawn dark. It was the Third Sunday of Advent, and the Northeast was in the embrace of the season’s first snowpocalypse. But snow or no snow, I had to get to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to cover Mass, so off I went.