Long months of the vicious COVID-19 pandemic preceded the arrival of this year's Advent season leading to Christmas. Neither Advent nor Christmas in 2020 will escape the pandemic's shadow.
Multiple times in the past few months, when discussing the horrors of this year, a friend has half-jokingly said, "If Jesus is going to come back, now would be a great time!"
The day after Thanksgiving in Advents past, the Rev. Billy could be found at 5:30 a.m. in front of Macy’s flagship store in midtown Manhattan. “Stop shopping!” he shouts at the bundled figures pushing past him in the dark carrying their full shopping bags. “Stop shopping.”
Q) I understand that when we die, we are immediately judged by God. It is my understanding that we either then go immediately to hell or heaven (via purgatory if necessary). If that is the case, why is there something called the “Last Judgment”? Are we judged again? Is it a “second chance”?
To be “woke” is now a thing. Over the past few years the media have employed this awkward grammatical construction — a simple past tense of the verb “to wake,” but used as an adjective — to describe being aware of one’s own biases, intending on overcoming them and advocating for societal change. Racism is a timely example: Someone who is woke admits his racial biases (they may even be unconscious) and aspires to be part of the solution.
The sacrament of confirmation is represented by a rich array of symbols developed over the centuries, and they help to reveal its meaning and add to its beauty.