2008 Advent Catholic Treasures with Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.
- “Why is Christmas on Dec. 25?”
- “Where did the custom of the Christmas tree come from?”
- “What is the religious symbolism behind the Advent wreath?
- “Advent key figure #1: the Blessed Virgin Mary”
- “Advent key figure #2: St. John the Baptist”
- “Caught in Christmas nostalgia?”

Franciscan Radio encourages you to put aside today’s cares and worries, and make a “radio retreat”—online. Using the Windows Media Player, Real Player or any MP3 player, including Apple’s iPod, take this opportunity to focus clearly on what God is saying to you this Advent.

As we prepare our spirits for the season of Advent, the first item of clutter is the worry habit, says Susan Rowland, author of Make Room for God: Clearing Out the Clutter. She offers antidotes to help us get our house in order to welcome the coming of God our lives.

The celebration of Christmas is not a sentimental waiting for a baby to be born, but much more an asking for history to be born, according to Franciscan Father Richard Rohr, author of Preparing for Christmas With Richard Rohr: Daily Meditations for Advent. Catholics, he says, do the gospels no favor when making Jesus, the eternal Christ, into a perpetual baby, a baby able to ask for little or no adult response.

From St. Anthony Messenger magazine
A little boy in an airport rekindles a priest’s love for the holiday season.