Second Sunday in Advent (Year C) Dec. 9 (Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126; Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6)

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VATICAN – Christians can turn Christmas into a "pagan" or "mundane" holiday by focusing on the gifts and the tree rather than on the birth of Jesus and his promise to come again, Pope Francis said.

EDMONTON – If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this beholder is pretty upset about one bad window.

WASHINGTON – In response to the church abuse crisis, many parishes around the country have been bringing out the big guns in a spiritual sense -- calling on St. Michael the Archangel to help the church.

Second-year university student Gabriela Jezierska didn’t know what the new school year would bring, but she knew she wanted to make the most of it. 

VATICAN – Christian conversion does not entail accusing others, but is shamefully recognizing and sincerely repenting one's own sins, Pope Francis said.

Like Job, Msgr. Peter Coughlin understood that everything in his life was God’s will. 

WASHINGTON – Addressing the clergy abuse crisis in the church will require "wider lay engagement, more realized accountability and evident transparency," said Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl at the end of a Sept. 2 Mass in Washington.

DUBLIN – Before celebrating Mass in a Dublin park, Pope Francis solemnly asked forgiveness for the thousands of cases of sexual and physical abuse perpetrated by Catholics in Ireland.

When Msgr. Brad Massman launched a Sunday Mass TV broadcast for shut-ins in 1987, its future was, at best, uncertain.

VANCOUVER – By the time Fr. Justin Huang stands before St. Anthony of Padua Church on a Sunday morning, he has done 10 hours of preparation and written about seven drafts of what he’ll say.

VATICAN – By receiving the Eucharist at Mass, Christians are given Christ's same spirit and a taste of eternal life, Pope Francis said.

WATERBURY, Conn. – More than 1,000 people gathered in the rain on top of Holy Land USA as Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford celebrated Mass to honour Waterbury native Father Michael McGivney, a candidate for sainthood, founder of the Knights of Columbus, and two-time seminarian in Quebec. 

Canon law prescribes that Mass be celebrated in a “sacred place” such as a church or a chapel consecrated by a bishop. That is why, for example, there are strict rules forbidding the celebration of wedding Masses at locations such as a beach or garden patio. 

AROUCA, Trinidad – More than four years ago, Saira Joseph-La Foucade stopped attending Mass.