Greetings everyone!
It is also a time for us to look ahead to preparing for Christ's 2nd coming.
The song "Even So, Come" uses the imagery of a bride and groom to show how we, as the Church, long for Christ.
This Busted Halo video explains Advent in 2 minutes.
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| Advent Wreath inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception |
In anticipation of the celebration of Christ's Birth on Christmas Day, we watched the scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas--2025 marks its 60th anniversary--when Linus proclaims the true meaning of Christmas.
Also during this class, I shared a little of the story of St. Mother Katharine Drexel, who used a large inheritance to support church-based institutions to aid African-Americans and Native Americans. She became a religious sister after a personal audience with Pope Leo XIII.
In mid-November, Pope Leo XIV participated in a live Q&A session with the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis. We watched a segment with a question from Elise, an Iowa teen. (You can click that link to go directly to that segment, and you can scroll back to the start to watch the entire program, which is about an hour long.)
I also shared this video of a close-up I had of Pope Francis, from about 20 feet away, at World Youth Day 2019 in Panama City, Panama.
Glory to Jesus Christ in the Church!
God's blessings,
Paul
Below are scenes from my trip to Washington, D.C., in December 2024, right before Nativity/Christmas Day. I featured these images on the Christmas cards for your families.
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| The front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception |
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| The Chapel for La Virgen de Guadalupe inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception |
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| The altar of the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception |
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| Nativity Scene in the Ellipse Park south of the White House |
